Reports from four Michigan counties and going back at least one year have the public and police on guard over a granny crime spree called the Mad Hatters.
The biggest problem is bad checks stolen from unattended purses have banks covering losses up to a total of $500,000.
There is no Mad Hatter Strike Force, so each county is handling the problem without tips from other counties.
So far, reports are in from Wayne, Oakland, Macomb and Washtenaw counties.
Released surveillance photos haven´t led to any significant tip-offs from the public. Some feel that the culprits aren´t all elderly women but at least one was a man in disguise. He deposited the stolen checks and then tried to make a withdrawal.
