Hamilton woman has Christmas gifts stolen 2 days in a row. Here's how to stop 'porch pirates'

A Hamilton woman says she is "mind-blown" after items she ordered for Christmas were stolen from her front porch twice in just over 24 hours.

Tylar-Leigh Corkum said she was waiting for a hat and track pants to arrive on Sunday, Nov. 10 while spending time with her kids at home in Hamilton's Corktown neighbourhood.

She said the courier, Apple Express, left the $100 gift on her front porch just after 11 a.m., but there was no drop off notification or knock on the door.

Around 1 p.m., she realized it arrived and walked outside — only to see her porch empty.

"In under two hours it was gone, and I was home," Corkum said. "My jaw dropped."

The next day, she received a package delivered by Uni Uni on her front step and got the notification, but she was at work. Corkum said she saw the notification an hour later.

Her mother, who lives next door, went to pick it up but it was also stolen.

"I feel very violated because … somebody was that close to my front door," she said. "The fact it happened twice makes me feel like it was targeted, maybe somebody is watching my house for packages."

Corkum said she would've had the packages sent to a post office but not all online purchases, like the ones she made, have those options.

She said she didn't contact local police because she had no evidence and felt they wouldn't be much help. CBC Hamilton contacted Apple Express and Uni Uni for comment but didn't immediately hear back.

Meanwhile, Hamilton police said in an email it's important for people to report package thefts so officers can keep track of how often it is happening. The service also pointed to Operation Ama-gone, which led to officers laying 56 charges and arresting three people in 2021 related to package theft.

Corkum said she received refunds for some of the items but now doesn't have the gifts she wanted to hand out for Christmas.

"My Christmas spirit is gone … I'm turned off by online shopping. I might stop," she said.

She said she's considering getting security cameras and said delivery people should have to knock on the front door or try to hide the package if possible.