Business owners fed up with thieves prying open mailboxes

FAYETTE COUNTY, Ga. — Mailboxes that are supposed to be locked and secure have become targets for thieves looking for a quick payday.

Cameras were rolling when a thief went to work on mailboxes over the weekend at the Kenwood Business Park.

In May, six companies fell victim to this same theft.

Gina Paxton at Autowerks of Fayetteville says nothing was stolen from their mailbox.

TRENDING STORIES:

• FREE things to do this week: Ice cream festival, hiking & movies
• Unsecure handcuffs, toothbrush aided in prisoners' deadly escape, authorities say
• 10-year-old walks in, finds mom shot to death

For other businesses, however, checks were stolen and written for tens of thousands of dollars, police say.

“The sheriff’s office does the best it can riding through randomly, but it’s just no stopping it,” Paxton said.

Police say the thieves are also after bank account information, specifically commercial bank account numbers that can be sold and used to make counterfeit checks and commit fraud.

"It’s upsetting because you can’t trust the normal act of just putting a piece of mail out,” Paxton said.

Most companies have stopped weekend mail delivery while others have taken to padlocking their boxes.

“We’re just frustrated and upset that we have to continue to do this,” Paxton said.

Cox Media Group