A rapidly growing crime problem in the United States and abroad, package theft is a phenomenon that is of persistent and significant concern to the public. However, the academic study on the subject has been neglected. Because package theft is understudied, the impact it has is difficult to understand, and the crime itself is hard to address. This present study defines package theft, informs readers about package theft, and examines online retail consumers’ fear of the crime. Fear of crime research has typically focused on the fear of violent crime, or it has concentrated on an abstract fear of crime. This study broadens the literature about fear of crime by examining fear of a specific crime, package theft, using an index of eleven questions measuring behavioral, cognitive, and affective impacts. Survey data of 562 participants from 49 states reveal that nearly one quarter (23.8%) have experienced package theft. Fear of package theft was statistically significant among the variables gender (women more than men), residential location (urban and suburban more than rural), and previous victimization of package theft. Additionally, the fear of package theft directly or vicariously harmed consumers and resulted in risk mitigation and risk avoidance behaviors. The present study demonstrates the usefulness of measuring fear through an index of multiple variables, for a specific crime, within an environmental context.

包裹盗窃在美国和国外是一个迅速发展的犯罪问题，是公众一直持续关注的重大现象。但是，关于该主题的学术研究被忽略了。由于对包裹盗窃行为的研究不足，因此其影响难以理解，犯罪本身也难以解决。本研究定义了包裹盗窃，向读者介绍了包裹盗窃，并研究了在线零售消费者对犯罪的恐惧。对犯罪的恐惧研究通常集中于对暴力犯罪的恐惧，或者集中于对犯罪的抽象恐惧。这项研究使用11个衡量行为，认知和情感影响的问题的索引，通过检查对特定犯罪的恐惧，包裹盗窃，扩大了对犯罪恐惧的文献。来自49个州的562名参与者的调查数据显示，近四分之一（23.8％）的包裹被盗。在性别（女性多于男性），居住地点（城市和郊区多于农村）以及以前的包裹盗窃受害变量中，对包裹盗窃的恐惧在统计学上具有显着意义。另外，对包裹被盗的恐惧直接或替代地伤害了消费者，并导致减轻风险和避免风险的行为。本研究表明在环境背景下，通过针对特定犯罪的多个变量的指数来衡量恐惧的有用性。和以前的包裹盗窃案。另外，对包裹被盗的恐惧直接或替代地伤害了消费者，并导致减轻风险和避免风险的行为。本研究表明在环境背景下，通过针对特定犯罪的多个变量的指数来衡量恐惧的有用性。和以前的包裹盗窃案。另外，对包裹被盗的恐惧直接或替代地伤害了消费者，并导致减轻风险和避免风险的行为。本研究表明在环境背景下，通过针对特定犯罪的多个变量的指数来衡量恐惧的有用性。