Enough Is Enough
Arthur was fed up. Every time he stepped outside and found his porch empty, a knot of anger twisted tighter in his gut. The packages he paid for were vanishing one by one, leaving behind nothing but frustration and a growing sense of violation.
Then one day, a bang rang out, followed by a scream. Arthur didn’t flinch—he simply leaned back, a slow smile curling across his face. Something had changed. The game was no longer in the thieves’ hands.
The Epidemic of Package Theft
Across the U.S., porch piracy has become rampant. Nearly one in three home deliveries ends up stolen—snatched not by delivery mistakes, but by opportunistic thieves who prey on unattended parcels.
Arthur Russel had been a victim one too many times. His patience worn thin, he no longer saw them as mischievous criminals—they were parasites feeding off the hard work of others. And Arthur had reached his limit.
A Man With Principles
Arthur wasn't a hothead. He was proud of his discipline, honed over years in law enforcement. He valued fairness and had never taken shortcuts in his life.
So when strangers started stealing what he had rightfully earned, it lit a fuse. Once might be forgivable, twice unsettling—but by the fourth time, Arthur's temper had boiled over. Someone was going to pay.
Bold Crimes, Quiet Justice
The thieves didn’t discriminate. Whether it was basic household goods or pricey car parts, nothing was safe. Each theft stung, not just financially but personally.
Arthur had filed reports and made phone calls, all to no avail. The authorities brushed him off. With nowhere else to turn, Arthur made a decision—he'd stop the thieves himself, on his terms.
Operation Payback
Frustrated and ignored, Arthur decided it was time to act. He got to work on what he called the “Revenge Box”—a baited trap designed to outsmart even the cockiest package snatcher.
This wasn’t just petty retaliation. Arthur’s creation would carry a lesson: stealing had consequences. And thanks to his unique background, he was ready to make it unforgettable.
More Than Meets the Eye
Arthur wasn’t just any retiree. As a former Navy SEAL, he had been trained in tactics most civilians couldn’t imagine. Missions, endurance, stealth—it was all second nature to him.
In his downtime, Arthur had a quirky hobby: crafting traps. Harmless but clever contraptions designed to teach a lesson. The porch pirates had no idea they’d picked the wrong man.
A Trap in Progress
At first, Arthur aimed for complexity. He built a trap modeled after a Chinese finger trap, something to confuse and detain the thief just long enough to teach a lesson.
But it felt underwhelming. Arthur wasn’t out for blood—he simply wanted justice. He scrapped the design, knowing he needed something more impactful and unforgettable.
The Fright Factor
“I don’t want to hurt them—I just want to scare them stiff,” Arthur mused. He was brainstorming ways to deliver a shock, not a wound. His trap needed to make them drop the box and think twice before ever returning.
But he also knew the law could be tricky. If the police found out, they might not share his sense of justice. That made careful planning even more crucial.
The Perfect Idea
Sketch after sketch, Arthur refined his trap. Gone were the snares—he wanted something that would make an unforgettable impression without crossing legal lines.
Then, it hit him. If he could rig the box to deliver a loud but harmless surprise, the thief would panic and run, and Arthur would get the satisfaction he craved. He got to work with renewed energy.
Stocking Up for Vengeance
With his blueprint in hand, Arthur headed to the hardware store. He picked up wires, timers, and a few unconventional items that only made sense to him.
As he wheeled his cart to the checkout, he noticed the cashier eyeing him. Was it suspicion or just curiosity? Either way, Arthur kept his cool. He wasn’t breaking the law—he was preparing to protect his peace.
How It Looked
He understood how it probably looked, but why would he care? He didn't have to explain anything to them, and they could make any assumptions they liked – even if they turned out to be true.
As long as no one picked up the phone and called the authorities, he would be okay. He just wanted to be left alone to create his ingenious invention.
The Bait
Arthur spent the rest of the day putting together his device and making a box look like an official goods package.
When Arthur finished, he stood back and looked at his masterpiece with delight. He took it to his backyard for a test drive and laughed in excitement when it did just what he engineered it to.
Test Rides
He tested it again, this time covering his ears. The first one left them ringing. He tested it over and over again to make sure it was reliable. And it was.
There was just one more piece left to make it all come together. Arthur got in the car and drove to the nearest store to get a security camera. There was no escaping him now.
Doorbell Camera
Arthur returned home and installed a doorbell cam so that he could see the thief's face while he was at work. The footage didn't disappoint.
Now, all that was left to do was lay down his trap and wait. Just as he expected, he didn't have to wait very long. That evening as he sat on his couch, he caught his first victim.
Acting Casual
The doorbell cam shows the unsuspecting victim audaciously strolling right up to Arthur's front door. Arthur watched eagerly from his phone.
He was sitting on the edge of the seat. He couldn't believe that a thief could look so casual before committing a crime. To his surprise, it's a woman.
First Catch
Arthur watches in amazement as the woman approaches. She goes to ring the doorbell to check if anyone is home but is spooked by the motion sensor light.
She walks away from the door. Then Arthur notices a getaway vehicle in the background. The man inside eggs her on, telling her to turn around.
Boom Box
With the person waiting in the getaway car growing impatient, the woman goes back to the house, takes a last look around, grabs the package, and BOOM.
The woman screams and runs back to the getaway car so fast that Arthur ends up with her cell phone. Poetic justice. He sits back and smirks. What had he done?
Simple And Effective
Arthur's box is genius in its simplicity. The box contains a plate that holds back a firing pin, which is connected to a string that's secured to his doorknob.
When the box is lifted or pulled, the plate moves enough to allow the firing pin to set off a 12-gauge shotgun blank. But is it legal? And do the thieves deserve it?
Deceiving Term
Some victims of porch piracy think even the term' porch pirate' is too cute a description to use for these common thieves.
For many people, they're the worst this society has to offer, especially for Christine Hyatt, who, like Arthur, has her own war story of misgivings dealing with these low lives.
Another Victim
Currently, America is going through a porch pirate epidemic, and Christine Hyatt is one homeowner that has suffered greatly at their hands.
With a daughter with diabetes, Christine relies on her packages to deliver some much-needed medical devices for her child. Yet, all too many times, her life-saving equipment has been stolen.
Stolen Medical Supplies
Christine claims that over 20 packages of hers have been stolen this year alone. Six of those packages contained her daughter's medical supplies.
It made her become as revenge-focused as Arthur, and she sent up many prank boxes too. Their neighborhood is one of the worst hit by porch pirates, and it was leaving its mark.
Feeling Plagued
When a neighborhood is tormented by porch pirates, it soon becomes an issue of safety. If you have thieves willing to drive around your neighborhood in broad daylight, targeting your house, then what else are they capable of doing?
He wasn't going to wait around for the answer. He knew he wouldn't be caught unprepared for whatever was to come.
A Question
The couple often wondered how far people were willing to go to steal from others. They'd heard news stories about people's houses being broken into, and they didn't want to be next.
So when would these nasty people stop? It was a question that plagued Christine and Arthur and a real motivation behind their revenge. But not everyone agreed with their methods.
Defending Thieves
A thread on Reddit debating the topic was surprisingly full of people jumping to the porch pirates' defense. "It's all fun and games until one of the would-be robbers sues for PTSD," one Reddit user typed.
This left some doubt in Arthur's mind. Did he do the right thing in the end? He didn't want any trouble after all.
More Comments
Another user wrote, "I don't get this. You're placing your property out there. It's not the thief's fault if he decided to take it and then gain access to its contents".
"But he wasn't placing his property out there." More comments said. "What other choice does he have if he gets something delivered? I can't believe you'd defend the pirates."
Flawed Logic
Apparently, some people think that unless your property is in your house, then it's a free-for-all. Of course, this is absolutely false. Some people don't know enough about laws.
If that were true, then by this logic, parking our cars in our yards or having our chairs, lights, and plants in our yards are also up for grabs. Anything that you paid for is yours, no matter where you left it.
Territorial Limits
A homeowner's property is anything within the territorial limits of that home. Front lawn, back lawn, and side lawns - included! People with attitudes like the ones on Reddit are why these porch pirates don't bat an eye when they take advantage and steal.
But thankfully, not all people seem to feel this way. Many people still think that what they do is unacceptable and that they should be punished severely.
Failed System
Mostly, however, people online shared a mutual hatred for these thieves and a huge disappointment in how the authorities failed to deal with them.
It left many people like Arthur and Christine feeling like they had no choice but to take matters into their own hands and serve justice themselves. But what would you do?
Don't Try This At Home
State law forbids anyone from assembling explosive devices without a valid license. "Even though it's a blank, the way the device is made is actually illegal," said police spokeswoman Loretta Cool.
It seemed that the police were breathing down Arthur's neck. This was the last thing he wanted. What would they do about it?
Didn't Like It
They certainly like things not going underneath their radar. They seriously hated the fact that the ex-Navy Seal technically built a bomb.
The police don't think that Arthur's "Boom Box" was a good idea at all. "If the would-be package thief is hurt in any way, the homeowner would be responsible," she continued...