Guilford UPS Employee Honored For Thwarting Scam: Police

GUILFORD, CT — A local UPS employee on Wednesday was given the Guilford Police Department Citizen Award for her efforts in thwarting a scam aimed at a resident, according to police.

Police Chief Christopher Massey, Deputy Chief Martina Jakober, and officer Scott Gingras, presented the award to Missy, who works at the UPS Store in Village Walk.

"A few weeks ago, Missy was working when a customer entered the store and was attempting to send a package. She believed the package might be related to a scam due to some common 'red flags' while the victim was in the store trying to ship it," police said in an announcement. "The customer was on the phone the entire time and appeared to be taking instructions as to what to say to the store employee from someone on the line. The customer also appeared flustered and confused explaining the shipment information to Missy."

Police said Missy asked pertinent questions about the package believing it was a scam, but the customer, who was being coached on the phone, lied to her about the package and its contents, police said.

"After the customer left the store, Missy called Guilford Police out of concern that the customer was indeed a victim of a scam. When the officer arrived on scene, the package was opened and it was discovered that the customer had been attempting to ship $10,000 in cash to the scammer on the phone, believing he was sending the money to Paypal after receiving a phishing scam email," police said.

The email the victim received indicated there was an unusual charge to his PayPal account and to contact the company immediately, police noted.

The victim contacted the number in the scam email and the scammers were able to access the victim’s bank accounts, making it appear they deposited $45,000 into his account, according to police.

"The scammers then instructed the victim to send $10,000 back to correct the error. They convinced the victim that the employee at the store might be a scammer and to remain on the phone during the transaction for instructions. The victim was further instructed to tell Missy lies about the contents of the package," police said.

The UPS transaction was cancelled shortly after it was made, and the money was returned to the customer who was educated on the warning signs of a scam, police said.

"We are grateful to Missy and commend her efforts in protecting a Guilford resident from suffering a significant financial loss," police said.