Fed-Up Man Unleashes The Ultimate Prank On Unsuspecting Package Thief
There's nothing quite as frustrating as finding out a package you've been waiting for has been swiped off your front porch without you realizing it.
One man came up with a pretty ingenious way of handling this problem.
Porch Pirates
In the age of online shopping, there's no convenience quite like having all of our purchases delivered right to our front porch.
But the price of convenience can be pretty steep, especially if you live in areas with a lot of porch pirates.
Revenge Is Sweet
Whenever someone grabs one of our packages off our front step, no matter how pricey or cheap the package was, it's easy to fantasize about all the ways we'd get our revenge.
Jaireme Barrow brought those fantasies to life.
A Constant Struggle
Like many of us, Barrow was sick of porch pirates taking his packages when they got delivered, and it seemed like it was happening to him every single time.
He didn't want them to get away with it again.
Their Methods
It takes a pretty bold person to pull off stealing a package off someone's porch — basically, you have to just walk up to someone's door, take their package, and walk away with confidence that you won't be stopped.
Barrow decided he wouldn't be letting them get that far.
It Didn't Matter What The Packages Were
It didn't seem to matter much to the porch thieves what was in the packages. Barrow had everything from toilet paper to car parts stolen right off his porch with no remorse.
He had enough.
Local Authorities?
Barrow tried to get the local authorities involved, but it wasn't much use. Most police forces are too busy to deal with small thefts like packages, as unfortunate as that is.
So he took matters into his own hands.
Plan In Motion
Barrow originally considered just making an empty box so the bandit would feel foolish, but he knew he needed to make a bigger impact.
He didn't want them to just not steal from him again. He didn't want them to steal from anyone.
He Had To Be Careful
As much as he wanted to teach these package thieves a lesson, he didn't want to physically hurt them or cause them pain!
Not only would he hurt the pirates, but he could also get into legal trouble.
Just A Scare
"I was thinking, how could I scare them and make them drop my package and then never come to my front porch again," Barrow said.
He came up with a pretty genius plan.
The Idea Hit Him
"And I thought, 'Getting shot at is scary. That'll make them think twice,'" he said.
"There's nothing scarier than a 12-gauge going off, especially when it's your face, and you don't know what's happening."
He Called It The Blank Box
The first attempt at creating a box to ward off would-be thieves involved "bricks, fishing line, a wooden box, an aluminum carrying vessel and a small pressure plate."
He took another crack at it.
It Was Simplified
The final version ended up being a dummy box with a 12-gauge shotgun blank on the inside.
When the package is lifted, the blank fires, creating a loud noise that gives the porch pirates a real scare!
A Brilliant Idea
"It's completely self-sustained, so if someone walks up to it and tries to take the package off the front porch, it releases and fires," Barrow explained.
If they leave it alone, nothing happens!
He Explained The Process
"So a package thief walks up the porch, doesn't know it's gonna, you know, go off, and goes to grab it, and bam!" Barrow said, showing off the device.
We wish we had thought of that!
He Only Needed One Last Thing
Of course, getting revenge is good enough on its own, but it's only made sweeter by one final purchase.
Barrow went out and bought a security camera, so he could watch it happen.
He Caught One On Tape Right Away
"So this is her; I was asleep on the couch, and boom," he explains over footage of a young woman who was attempting to nab the box off his porch.
Everything went according to plan.
It Goes Off Without A Hitch
"I never get tired of seeing that," he says as the woman screams and runs away back to her waiting getaway vehicle.
She probably learned a very valuable lesson that day!
It's Not A Trap
"I don't want to feel like I'm entrapping people, but if they're gonna come by my porch, trying to steal my stuff, then I kind of feel like they get what they deserve," he said.
A lot of people would agree!
It's A Simple Lesson
"If it's not yours, don't touch it," Barrow explained.
"I mean, people work hard; they're out there working ten hours a day to provide for their family and their kids."
He Has High Hopes
"Knowing that hopefully, at least, this lady in particular and maybe that gentleman, maybe they'll think and change careers," Barrow went on.
"Or actually get one."
It's Not Dangerous
You might be a little worried that this device could hurt someone who wasn't expecting it, but Barrow made sure that that wouldn't be a problem.
"It's very loud but technically harmless," he said.
It Lead To An Identified Thief
"The very first guy I did it to, he was so scared he dropped his cellphone in my front yard," Barrow recalled.
He was able to use that phone to track the guy down.
He Contacted The Police
"I gave it to the cops," Barrow explained of the phone that the thief left behind. They were able to locate the owner, and he was closer to home than Barrow expected!
"Turns out, he lived, like, three blocks away from me."
There Has Been Pushback
While Barrow insists that the box is "completely safe" and that nobody's been hurt who has attempted to steal his packages, there are still some people who take issue with it.
Like the police.
It's On Him
"Even though it's a blank, the way the device is made is actually illegal," a policewoman named Loretta Cool has said about Barrow's work.
If someone is injured, he could be held liable.
There's No Excuse
Cool explained that you can't intentionally set people up to be injured, even if they're breaking the law first.
"Even more than him crossing the line, I'm not sure if people realize that, even though this person is stealing something, he can’t intentionally set them up to be hurt."
On The Bright Side
However, despite the potential illegality, there haven't been any cases brought against Barrow for his device because "nobody has reported this. We have to have a victim."
I guess you don't want to admit that to the cops!
It's About Satisfaction
"One girl, she screamed so loud — it was instant karma," he said.
“Someone is trying to commit a crime, and you're able to get back at them instantly. It’s a satisfaction I can’t describe.”
The Internet Loved It
"Is hitting a thief with an exploding dye packet in a bait box considered a crime? Asking for a friend," one Reddit user asked, inspired by Barrow's invention.
"It's not when banks do it. I don't see home use being any different," another replied.
What Do You Think?
Is this a genius solution to dealing with unwanted porch pirates, or does it maybe take things a step too far?
No matter what, you'll probably think twice before going after a package left on someone's step!