SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) - During the holiday season, millions of gifts are ordered online and shipped all around the country, but if individuals are not careful, packages can be stolen before they can even be wrapped.
The joy of anticipating a package delivery at your door step can sometimes be ruined by thieves who take advantage of the opportunity.
CBS News 8 has reported countless stories about packages being swiped. While some thieves have been caught in the act, the items are usually long gone, and some suspects are never brought to justice.
Andy Tibbs from UPS advised customers to sign up for UPS My Choice - a free service that allows individuals to receive text or email updates regarding deliveries.
"You get a day before delivery alert and you get a day of delivery alert. You can also get an alert when the package is actually delivered," he said.
UPS My Choice also allows customers to reroute his or her delivery to a UPS store or a neighbor.
On the technology side, Best Buy sells a product called Chamberlyn My-Q for $100. The product comes with two devices - one for a garage door opener and the other that is mounted on the garage door.
Individuals can then download the product's free app on their phone and are able to control when their garage door opens and closes.
A similar product called August Smart Lock allows individuals to lock and unlock their front door.
UPS officials said their busiest drop off period for packages is December 19 through December 23 when they deliver 30 million packages a day.