Genius: Man Invents Booby-Trapped Package to Catch Porch Pirates

"I was thinking, how could I scare them and make them drop my package and then never come to my front porch again," Barrow told The Washington Post. "And I thought, 'Getting shot at is scary. That'll make them think twice.' "

With that, TheBlankBox was born.

...The nondescript dummy box is placed in plain sight. When an unsuspecting thief lifts it, a 12-gauge shotgun blank goes off.

...It's very loud but technically harmless, Barrow said.

...And what of litigious would-be criminals tempted to sue after taking a stumble down porch stairs?

Barrow suggests tacking up a "no trespassing" sign and taping a note to the box that warns people to not move packages on the porch. That can inoculate a homeowner from lawsuits. Notifying delivery drivers doesn't hurt, either.

“Even though it’s a blank, the way the device is made is actually illegal,” said Loretta Cool, a police spokeswoman. Barrow could also be held liable if someone gets hurt on his property during or after an explosion, she said.

“Even more than him crossing the line, I’m not sure if people realize that, even though this person is stealing something, he can’t intentionally set them up to be hurt,” Cool said.

She said police are not currently investigating Barrow because “nobody has reported this. We have to have a victim.”