Cobb Reporter

Kennesaw Police are warning residents about sending checks in the mail this holiday season after checks were stolen from a blue mailbox outside the post office. 

In a recent report by FOX 5 Atlanta, Officer Buchanan said police are currently trying to piece together all the cases to figure out what is going on and whether or not one person is responsible. 

"The most recent case involved the box being pried open. It is very brazen to do it in front of the post office," Buchanan told FOX 5 Atlanta.

After the thefts, police said some of the checks were washed, with the information that had originally been written on them erased and instead written out to a new recipient for a significantly larger amount.

According to the report, such kinds of thefts have been reported all across metro Atlanta, including Dunwoody, where dozens of cases have been opened over the last few months, recently prompting Sen. Raphael Warnock's office to get involved by sending a letter urging the postal Inspector to investigate.

Resident Christian Gruner said his father was among those recently victimized, adding after he put a check in a mailbox in front of the Marietta post office last month he "found out later that it was pried open and someone had stolen his check."

Rather than sending out checks or gift cards this year, police recommend electronic transfer apps like Zelle, CashApp or Venmo, FOX 5 reports. If a check must be sent, senders should verify it was received and contact the bank or cancel the check if it is not.