CBS Atlanta 46Warning for homeowners: Watch for thieves targeting mailboxes

There's an alert for homeowners in Atlanta. The Woodland Hills neighborhood in northeast Atlanta sent out an alert after a mailbox there was hit.

"My uncle was having coffee and reading the newspaper when he saw someone pull up in a white sedan. They kind of slowed in front of the yard and then they stopped in front of the mailbox," said Peter Tongkumsai.

Tongkumsai said his uncle didn't think much of it until later in the day.

"He realized the flag was still up in the afternoon but there was no mail inside," said Tongkumsai.

It wasn't until a nearby Wells Fargo employee called, that the family realized exactly what happened. Someone had lifted three bill payments out of their mailbox.

"They wrote over our checks that were written in pen with a fake name and they tried to cash it out. The teller did their job. They asked for ID first to have that person cash the check. When she said she was going to run back to the car to grab the ID, she never came back," Tongkumsai.

Fortunately, the Tongkumsai's were alerted about the mailbox theft the same day. They closed the checking account and were able to re-write the checks without losing any cash. Still, they want to warn others in case the thieves strike again.

"We know it's the holiday season so there's a lot of desperate people. Maybe they're trying to cover bills, maybe they're just trying to take advantage of the situation. We just hate that there are people like that out there," said Tongkumsai.

Tongkumsai's advice is to mail any bills through a secure post office mailbox and report anyone acting suspicious around a mailbox.

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