COLUMBUS, Ohio — A female robber has hit three Ohio banks in one week, a rare short-term streak of robberies that's even rarer for a woman criminal, according to police and the FBI.

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Authorities said the woman handed a note to a teller at a credit union in the Columbus area Thursday saying she had a gun and wanted a lot of cash.

The same woman robbed two banks earlier in the week, both in the Columbus area, investigators said.

FBI Special Agent Harry Trombitas said three bank robberies by the same person in a week is rare for anyone, male or female.

Trombitas said several investigators recall the same woman robbing a bank in Columbus in January 2006.

The FBI said only 6 percent of the more than 7,000 bank robberies reported nationally last year were committed by women.