JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:

Porch pirates and mail miscreants.

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

Those are just a couple of names given to the bandits who snag other people's mail. According to Forbes, package theft costs an estimated $9 billion a year in the United States.

SUMMERS: And while some may shrug their shoulders after a package doesn't turn up, one California woman took matters into her own AirTag.

CHANG: That's right. The sheriff's office in Santa Barbara County, Calif., said it apprehended two suspects earlier this month thanks to a tiny tracking device, the AirTag. It's a location tracker that's about the size of a coin, and it's made by Apple, which is among NPR's financial sponsors.

SUMMERS: The California deputy said the woman was a frequent victim of mail theft, so she mailed a package to herself with an AirTag inside of it, and package thieves took the bait. After the victim began tracking her perfectly positioned parcel, Santa Barbara deputies arrested two people.

CHANG: Turns out the duo was in cahoots with other package theft cases. Both face felony charges and are being held on bond, according to jail records.

SUMMERS: The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office called the victim's approach, quote, "proactive." Could this be a trend to beat package theft? Well, we'll keep tracking it and let you know. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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