Postal worker helps avert fraud
Long lines snaked through the lobby of the Shadle/Garland Postal Station recently. The window clerks patiently assisted customers purchasing stamps, mailing packages and sending Christmas cards. It’s what they do.
However, postal clerk Delmar Garrod provided an unexpected service to one of his regular customers. An elderly gentleman began to purchase money orders on alarmingly frequent basis. Though Garrod serves an average of 100 to 150 customers a day, he remembered this particular man. “He always came to my window,” Garrod said. “He was quite feeble and had difficulty writing. I’d help him fill out the money order form.”
The money orders were addressed to a commercial mail-receiving agency in Portland . “I asked the gentleman if he was sending money to his family,” Garrod recalled. “He said, ‘No, just somebody I heard needs money.’ “
Garrod grew increasingly concerned. “The next time he came in, I asked him how he knew he was sending money to a real person.” The customer replied that he’d received a picture in the mail. He believed he was helping a woman who desperately needed a kidney transplant.
This reply raised red flags for Garrod. “I was feeling like someone was taking advantage of him. He was sending out anywhere from $300 to $500 every other week.”
The clerk expressed his concern to a co-worker whose husband is a former postal inspector. She alerted her husband, who gave Garrod a call. Soon the wheels were in motion.
Larry Carlier, the former postal inspector, now works as an investigator for the Washington state attorney general’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. He’s familiar with the ways in which the elderly population can be targeted. He said this type of fraud is fairly common. “The elderly are often lonely. They’re vulnerable,” he said.
He contacted Adult Protective Services, who investigated, and soon Garrod received word that indeed, his customer had been a victim of fraud. When the man returned a week later, Garrod said, “He was still pretty adamant that this was a legitimate need.”
Ultimately, the man was convinced he’d been the victim of a scam and filed a report with the Spokane Police Department. The matter is currently under investigation by multiple agencies, including the U.S. Postal Service Inspector’s Office.
Randy Griffin, team leader for the Postal Inspector’s Office said, the scope of the investigation is still unknown. This gentleman had been targeted through a single’s phone chat line, and they are still investigating the possibility of other victims.
According to Lisa Nystuen, customer relations coordinator for the postal service, the reported loss to this elderly victim is estimated at $40,000. She said as a result of Garrod’s actions, a further mailing by the man was recovered, sparing him an additional loss of $5,000.
The warning is clear. Griffin said, “Be very careful who you send money to. Don’t take the word of strangers unless you can independently verify the information.” He said a lot of people just want to be generous. “My advice is to be generous through sanctioned organizations like local churches.”
At the Shadle/Garland Postal Station, manager John Dittmer wasn’t surprised by Garrod’s actions. “He’s quiet and conscientious,” he said. “He’s always trying to do the right thing.
For Garrod the right thing is simple. He said, “Each of us is responsible for taking care of others.”