A Flatlands mother is warning neighbors to keep an eye on their delivered packages after a porch pirate stole toys she had ordered for her daughter's second birthday.
"I received a notification from Amazon saying I had a package delivered," Ange-Laure Vernon said. But a person caught on her doorbell camera grabbed those packages and walked away.
The stolen packages contained toys and decorations for Vernon's daughter's birthday party.
"What's benefiting someone taking toys? Maybe after you opened the package, you throw them back. It's nothing you actually need," Vernon said. She added that the person caught on the doorbell camera is not anyone she recognizes.
"Yes, we are in New York City, it's Brooklyn, but our neighbors are good people," she said.
The video doorbell is in plain sight and it warns people that it is recording if they approach the porch.
"This person put me in a position where I'm panicking -- what is my daughter to do? It's her birthday, she's expecting gifts," Vernon said.
Vernon was able to get the stolen goods replaced after reaching out to Amazon.
"I had to call them twice... I was assured that I would have the packages redelivered," Vernon said.
She will now take steps to ensure this does not happen again, which includes having packages sent to an Amazon locker instead of her home.
"People almost feel like they're not going to get in trouble for it. There are no consequences, so what's stopping anyone from taking whatever they want?" Vernon asked.
If packages do arrive at her door, Vernon said she has enlisted the help of her neighbors to be a second set of eyes.