DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – U.S. Postal Service officials say mail thefts have cost Iowa businesses thousands of dollars in the past few months. Inspector Jim O’Hara told The Des Moines Register on Tuesday that businesses have notified his office of stolen mail and suspicious activity on their bank accounts. He says thieves steal checks from mailboxes, make counterfeits and then recruit homeless people to cash them.

O’Hara says the scheme is becoming more common in the Midwest, and investigators think the more recent cases can be linked to the Bloods gang in Atlanta. He advises businesses to lock mailboxes and retrieve mail as soon as possible.