As Lewiston, NY, Retail Associate Diana Whetstine recently helped a customer with a significant money order purchase, she picked up on familiar signs that he was being drawn into a scam.
She enlisted the help of Postmaster Patrick Madigan, and they urged the man not to send the money order, especially after he showed them an email that detailed a common fraudulent ploy: a promise of lottery winnings in exchange for upfront payments.
The customer took their advice and kept the money order. He also told them he had been planning to mail a substantial check, but would hold on to that, too.
Madigan, who alerted postal inspectors after the incident, believes the man would have lost thousands of dollars without intervention.