WATCH: UPS thief caught on tape stealing gifts

WATCH: UPS thief caught on tape stealing gifts

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The Alversons caught a temporary UPS worker steal an iPad mini from the doorstep in Houston, Texas.

‘Tis the season of giving â€" not taking. But one UPS worker did not share the holiday spirit.

A temporary UPS worker stole a Christmas present off of a couple’s doorstep in Houston, Texas Wednesday; luckily, they caught the theft on camera.

While at work, Sandra Alverson and her husband Al were awaiting two Christmas deliveries: Sandra ordered a Garmin navigation system for Al, who ordered an iPad mini for their daughter.

They received a message from FedEx saying that the iPad was delivered around 9:30 a.m. But when they got home and it wasn’t there, the couple reviewed footage recorded by their security camera system. 

“We saw that the UPS package was delivered,” Sandra told the Daily News. “And then two minutes later the UPS guy comes back … and picks up the package with the iPad mini in it and took it.”

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Sandra Alverson said that UPS did not help them recover their stolen Christmas gift until she and her husband Al put the footage on YouTube.

The couple said that they called UPS customer care multiple times but did not get adequate assistance. The last time Al spoke to UPS that evening, he said that he would put the footage on YouTube if they are not helped, the couple said.

“UPS called us the next morning, not in response to our customer service calls, but because they had seen the video on YouTube,” Sandra said. “All the contacts that we had with them that afternoon didn’t go anywhere. I guess they went into a queue somewhere.”

Al, who filed a police report, insisted that all he wanted was his iPad back. UPS recovered the iPad and returned it to the Alversons, but they think it never would have happened if they did not put the tape on the Internet.

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Thanks to Al's security system, he figured out who was responsible for the theft quickly.

UPS is cooperating with the ongoing investigation. The company claimed it requires criminal background checks before hiring employees.

“The person that was involved was a temporary holiday worker. He was not a UPS driver and he has been terminated. UPS replaced the item and the homeowner is satisfied,” Natalie Godwin, UPS spokesperson, told the Daily News.

Now Sandra is concerned that the UPS worker may have stolen packages from other customers.

“He did it so easily,” she said. “I would think if he hadn’t done it before, he may have struggled a little bit … Our concern is that people need to be aware that it’s not always some random person stealing packages. It could be someone that you trust or you think you should trust.” 

mwalsh@nydailynews.com