SEATTLE — Police are seeking the suspects they believe are responsible for a "dramatic increase" in "note-job" bank robberies in North Seattle.
The suspects walk into a bank and pass a note to a teller making threats and demanding money, according to the Seattle Police Department (SPD).
SPD and the FBI are asking for the public's help in identifying the suspects.
"There's already been nine this month around the greater Seattle area and five in the city," FBI's Steve Bernd said. He added that last month they saw 14 of these note-job robberies, with 11 of them being in Seattle.
"To compare it to March, it was 14 and 11, last March it was I think three total? Something like that," he said. "It's a crazy jump."
The photos of the masked suspects show them passing a note to a bank teller.
"We've definitely seen the rise in what we call note-jobs which are when a robber hands the teller a note, demanding money and typically they're advised to comply with the robber so no one is harmed," Bernd explained.
Bernd said it doesn't help that masks are so much more commonplace these days.
"Ever since the pandemic, it's been fewer people look at someone with a mask on and wonder if something is happening," Bernd said. "So it creates an opportunity for potential robber I think."
Bernd also said it's striking how young the bank robbers appear to be.
"That's why we're putting out a call for information," he said. "We don't know who these guys are-- but they definitely look like they're youngsters and we feel like by putting these photos out there someone's going to recognize these young men and hopefully put a stop to some of these bank robberies."
Before the latest uptick in the crime, there were nearly zero occurrences of note-job bank robberies, but they are now a weekly occurrence, SPD noted.
Anyone with information about the bank robberies or the suspects is asked to call the SPD tip line at 206-233-5000 or CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.
CrimeStoppers offers up to a $1,000 cash reward for any information leading to an arrest and charges against a suspect.
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