this post was submitted on 11 Oct 2024

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Using inside info, iPhone thieves arrive at your house right after FedEx (arstechnica.com)

submitted 1 week ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 59 points 6 days ago (4 children)

FedEx pointed out that shippers of high-value goods "can request Hold at Location or Direct Signature Required services, or redirect a package to FedEx Office”

Can’t tell you how many times FedEx has just completely ignored the direct signature required part. If it’s not something like alcohol where the government will crack down on them then they don’t care.

You can look up the signature for the package on their app. I can’t sign my name in Times New Roman…so clearly I didn’t sign for that. If I do sign for it then it’s an image of my actual signature.

They also have a bad habit of delivering stuff to my neighbor without ever setting foot on my property because apparently they can’t read house numbers…FedEx is terrible in my area.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 6 days ago (1 children)

FedEx is terrible in my area

FedEx is terrible in everyone's area.

The big thing is unlike UPS, they use a lot of contractors for delivery, and well, you get what you pay for.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 days ago

I ship quite a few things and I only use USPS and UPS. I also use pirate ship, which only has those two anyway, but I won't use FedEx for a number of reasons.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 6 days ago (1 children)

FedEx has straight up forged my signature before

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 days ago

Had a delivery dude in the process of doing so when i opened the door, yada yada yada dude seemed like a meth head and i could barely understand him. Said whatever signed then took my package while he ran back to the van like i was gonna call the cops on him.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 6 days ago

FedEx is amazingly bad

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 days ago

I've gone to just having stuff delivered to a place for pick up. It's just so mush easier in the long run. As a bonus it forces to actually walk around my neighborhood.

[–] [email protected] 44 points 6 days ago (6 children)

In the UK you’re not getting a phone delivered to your house and left without providing a pin to the delivery driver.

I’m all for leaving low value items outside but phones and stuff, come on people.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 6 days ago

In France you can have it delivered to a post office. To pick it up you’ll need to show a state id card as proof.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 6 days ago

In Germany you have to show your ID card to get it, at least in theory.

[–] sugar_in_your_tea 6 points 6 days ago (1 children)

At least in my area, theft really isn't a thing. I don't know anyone on my street who has had a package stolen, and I've ordered TVs, phones, consoles, etc, all of which could be pawned pretty easily.

So the security around these things really should take area into account. A densely populated area like NYC or SF would probably need more strict protections than a place like mine.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 days ago (1 children)

I think at lot has to do with the company. Like Amazon don’t care as they make so much it’s just not worth waiting around for PINs or signatures as it’ll cost them more than lost stock. Plus they probably have some insurance.

[–] sugar_in_your_tea 5 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Right, and we're talking about iPhones here, so Apple has certainly done the math on whether paying for the signature service costs more than buying insurance on the item.

As a customer, I don't particularly care which they do. When I order things from smaller retailers, I usually have to sign. When I order from larger retailers, I usually don't. Either way, I have never had a stolen package, and if I did, I'm confident I could report it and get a new one sent out quickly. If I had packages stolen frequently, I would expect the retailer to get suspicious and require signature and photo to make sure I'm not the one stealing them or something.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Apple don’t deliver their own parcels, at least in the UK, so that’s all on the courier. I was more referring to buying on contract from carriers anyway as this is also how they’re delivered and it’s the delivery companies that give drivers like 30 seconds per drop because they make more money delivering more parcels so it’s likely cheaper.

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[–] [email protected] 28 points 6 days ago (9 children)

Why do package delivery companies in the United States seem to just leave the package on the doorstep when the person isn't home. That seems like such an obviously stupid thing to do.

Pretty much everywhere else the package delivery companies would either take the product back with them and deliver it on another day or contact the person via the contact details they have and request a safe place to leave it. Most delivery companies will let you specify this when you make the order.

Or if it's not bin day they can just put it in the recycling bin.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)

Because if the delivery requires you to sign for it, the delivery driver will just walk up to your house and slap a “we missed you” sticker on your door and get right back in his truck without even attempting to deliver it. If they even bother getting out of the truck at all that is.

We don’t have enough PTO time to take entire days off from work just so we can be home for a delivery that doesn’t show up over and over.

[–] sugar_in_your_tea 5 points 6 days ago (1 children)

I had that happen once, and it was a new laptop and I guess they were running late that day.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 6 days ago

Meanwhile I've had FedEx give me the "sorry we missed you" email as their truck is still speeding away from my house

[–] [email protected] 11 points 6 days ago (1 children)

I'll tell you why. Time.

I used to live two hours away from a UPS delivery hub. it could take weeks for me to get a delivery from UPS after I was supposed to get it.

they used to not deliver packages unless you were there. I missed the first delivery, the next two times they never showed up and said they did.

over two months later I finally had to drive two hours to the distribution hub and claim my package.

I had no option of who to ship my package with. that was entirely left up to the seller.

I now live 15 minutes away from the same distribution hub and it STILL takes a month extra to get my packages.

this is why I tell every delivery service to just leave it at the door.

our options suck, sellers refuse to use USPS because we have a corrupt bitch running it that's running it into the ground, and I just don't have the time to wait 3-4 times the shipping length for products I bought.

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[–] GhiLA 7 points 6 days ago

Why do package delivery companies in the United States seem to just leave the package on the doorstep when the person isn't home. That seems like such an obviously stupid thing to do.

Because no one forces them to.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 days ago

Many areas in the u.s. are spread out pretty far. If the office isn't open when I get off of work then I can't pick it up. There's a lot of post offices, even small towns have one, so that's not such a big deal. Amazon, FedEx, and UPS offices are few and far between. I couldn't even tell you where I found pick up one of their packages in my area.

[–] ayyy 3 points 6 days ago (1 children)

How do you get anything delivered if you have a job?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 days ago (3 children)

Here in Germany, DHL and Amazon have their own parcel drop off lockers where they put your parcels in and send you a code to retrieve it. You then have several days to get it. And these stations are plenty in every city.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 days ago (1 children)

This is a relatively new technology; we have this in the states as well. As the systems get cheaper, more intuitive, more well-understood, they're rolling out to more places. I've seen one in a very small town, and there's a number of them outside of middle-high class apartment complexes.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 days ago (1 children)

The first ones were built in 2001 here, they're quite established. Problem is now that they sometimes are so full so that your parcel cannon be delivered to the one that you specified. Especially before Christmas it's insane. Sometimes DHL will deliver to a Post office instead which is not near the place you wanted.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 days ago

Oh. The ones I'm referring to are the modern Amazon lockers & such, reliant on modern technology. Courier goes up, enters auth code. It then asks you to scan a pkg. Then there's the prompt, is the pkg: SMALL, MEDIUM, LARGE, X-LARGE? Upon selection, it pops open a corresponding door. One pkg per locker. Rinse & repeat until all pkgs delivered to lockers, and recipients are notified of delivery.

Once you get the hang of it, it's actually super slick & helpful for everyone.

Kind of related but not as high-tech or secure, some nice apartment complexes are being built with sizeable delivery rooms. Which works unless you've got a klepto in your complex.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 days ago

I wonder if this is similar to when weev & Goatse Security "hacked" AT&T by discovering that their website for managing iPad accounts was so poorly designed that you could just change the account number in the website's URL to access other people's accounts.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 6 days ago

PSA. Send stuff to your local post office and then go pick it up.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 6 days ago

This just happened to a friend of mine on Wednesday. Had a new phone from AT&T delivered, and was almost immediately taken from their porch. Their doorbell camera caught both the delivery and the theft.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 6 days ago

And then there's Kansas City...

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