CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — This time of year, we see it over and over again: Porch pirates stealing peoples’ gifts and Christmas presents right from their front stoop.
It happened at a home in southwest Charlotte, but one didn’t land any electronics, expensive gifts or holiday must-have.
“I was at the hardware store, and doing a little bit of Christmas shopping, and I said, ‘Let’s get something for people on the naughty list too,’” said one Charlotte resident, who asked Queen City News not to use his full name.
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It wasn’t coal, but it was the next-best thing.
“Just took a box that a package had already come in, and I put the bricks in there with a little note saying, ‘We don’t appreciate you doing this,’ and waited and just went fishing for porch pirates, and I got one,” the man said.
Catching porch pirates on camera is like shooting fish in a barrel. Unfortunately, the crime is lucrative for the crooks too.
The National Retail Federation predicts that holiday sales will increase between 3 and 4 percent this year to a record-total north of $957 billion. Online sales are expected to account for 29 percent of that figure.
The Charlotte resident knows this man likely won’t stop stealing, but maybe he’ll feel foolish for falling for the decoy.
“I hope they enjoy their bricks for Christmas,” the man said.
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