Amazon helped police plant fake packages to try and trap thieves

Paul Sakuma/AP Photos

Amazon is reportedly helping police catch potential package thieves.

• Amazon has helped police lure potential thieves with fake packages that are rigged with GPS devices, according to a report by Motherboard.
• The tech giant reportedly helped the Hayward, California police department carry out a sting called "Operation Safe Porch."
• "Operation Safe Porch" is different from Amazon's internal stings, in which the company plants empty packages with fake labels in delivery trucks to try and catch drivers who might be stealing.
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Amazon has helped police lure potential thieves with fake packages, according to a report by Motherboard, a Vice site specializing in technology news.

The tech giant helped the Hayward, California police department carry out a sting, called "Operation Safe Porch," that involved planting Amazon-branded "bait" packages on porches last fall that were rigged with GPS tracking devices, Motherboard reported.

The report cites emails between Amazon's "national package theft team" and the Hayward Police Department, which reveal details of the program. Amazon provided the police department with boxes, tape, and lithium ion stickers for the sting, according to the emails.

Read more: Amazon plants fake packages in delivery trucks as part of an undercover ploy to 'trap' drivers who are stealing

In response to the report, an Amazon spokesperson told Motherboard: "We appreciate the effort by local law enforcement to tackle package theft in their communities, and we remain committed to assisting them in their efforts however we can."

It's not known whether the sting resulted in any arrests.

This isn't the first time Amazon has been involved in a sting operation to catch potential thieves.

As Business Insider reported in September, Amazon plants empty packages with fake labels in delivery trucks to try and catch drivers who might be stealing.