TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI)- Cyber Monday is here and many of you plan to spend the day behind the computer, cashing in on deals.

But...you may be paying the price in other ways if you're not watching out for porch pirates.

Indiana State Police tell us theft increases this time of year and it's happening right at your door!

Here's how the pirates operate.

Porch pirates wait for you to leave your home.. whether that means running errands or heading to work. They see the package, unsupervised.. and use this as an opportunity to steal it. They then take your item and sell it online in return.

This act is considered theft and since USPS is a federal agency this would be considered a federal offense.

Sgt. Matt Ames tells us several state police are trying to spread awareness of this issue as they see it happening more often.

"This is just something that's not just happening in the Wabash Valley area it's happening statewide and the public information officers for the Indiana State Police are broadcasting information on their social media about how to deter the porch pirates coming and taking items off of your porch," Ames explained.

The good news is you can take precautions to avoid theft.

Have your package delivered to your work, schedule a time for the package drop off, require a signature, ask a neighbor to keep an eye out, try a lockbox or install a porch camera. These are all ideas to help protect your package.

"People are going to be buying stuff online. We ask for you to be vigilant and your packages being delivered to your residence. we just like for you to follow these few steps so that your packages are not getting stolen from the pirates and that way you don't have a grinch interrupting all your holiday festivities," said Ames.

If your package is stolen, report it to the police immediately so that they can attempt to track it and the pirate who stole it.