Report: Scammers Preying on Elderly Rockford Citizens

Today, a Rockford senior citizen received a call about winning a large sum of money and was instructed by the caller to send money to someone in order to collect money she "supposedly" won. She went her bank and withdrew the funds and headed to a post office here in the Stateline area to mail the money to the scammer.

The good news is that the attentive clerk at one of our local post offices spotted the potential scam and alerted the customer to go to her bank where she withdrew the funds from and speak to a bank manager.

A big high five is in order for this Stateline area postal clerk whose red flags were raised when this occurred. A simple conversation between the clerk and the elderly customer most likely saved this woman from great financial loss.

I spoke with the postal clerk who told me:

My red flags were flying. I asked her to go to her bank and see a manager. She had just come from the bank with the money. Hopefully they explain to her that this was a scam. I made a copy of the address to send to the postal inspector. I can't stand the vermin who scam old people.

The United States Postal service says that every year, illegal telemarketing and mail fraud schemes rob consumers, often elderly citizens, of their hard-earned life-savings.

If someone contacts you or a loved one with an unsolicited offer:

• Don't give your financial information to callers you don't know.
• Don't be pressured into making an immediate decision.
• Get all information in writing before you agree to a purchase.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is committed to protecting seniors from telemarketing and mail fraud schemes.

What truly frightens me is the fact that the people at this woman's bank did not raise any eyebrows when she went in to withdraw a large sum of cash.

A little conversation and customer service can go a long way.