Some companies that play an unintentional role in common scams are doing their part to warn seniors.

Publishers Clearing House cautions website visitors that legitimate sweepstakes companies don't ask "winners" for money to claim a prize. That's against the law.

And if a "winner" must "drive somewhere; pay a shipping, handling or delivery fee; prepay taxes; pay a deposit; give a credit card number; call a 900 number; or purchase a product with a 'discount voucher,' it is NOT affiliated in any way with the real Publishers Clearing House," the site says.

Western Union's website lists common scam scenarios. The company urges customers to verify "emergencies" and send money only to people they know and trust.

Bank tellers, clerks and others who work directly with customers can find themselves in a unique position to stop a scam. But intervening can come at the risk of overstepping boundaries or defying company policies.

"With privacy issues today, you really have to be careful," AARP consumer advocate Mary Bach said. "Their jobs could be on the line [for stepping in]."

The UPS Store ships checks and money orders (which it also sells) to locations around the world.

Employees must ask what's inside an envelope or box — UPS does not ship cash — but the questions stop there, said Art Ward, who owns the store at 1390 Columbia Ave.

"We have to know what's in there. We don't have to know why," he said. "It's confidential information. ... We can't get involved."

Earlier this year, a local CVS clerk stopped a customer from wiring money to a scammer, New Holland police Lt. Jonathan Heisse said. The customer later thanked the clerk.

But speaking up doesn't always work.

In 2008, a Lititz woman who believed she had won a "sweepstakes" ignored bank employees' warnings and withdrew $160,000 from her account, according to newspaper records.

Front-line employees might do everything possible to stop a scam, Heisse said, but customers won't listen. Some would-be victims might not even believe police.

"Sometimes ... you can't convince the person this is not true," he said. "What can you do? Do you get into an altercation with them?"

Bank on the alert
Banks have a responsibility to protect customers while respecting confidentiality, said Barry Miller, Susquehanna Bank's managing director of retail banking.

Banks can't catch every scam, he said. But Susquehanna trains employees to recognize fake checks associated with mail scams, as well as unusual customer behavior, such as wanting to wire money, making large withdrawals or being evasive.

Miller recalls one woman who wanted to take out a home equity line of credit, a highly unusual request for someone in her late 70s.

"We try to train (employees) to recognize those changes in behavior, and ... in a very soft but clear way, try to find out what's going on," he said. "Why is there a change in behavior? What are they trying to accomplish?"

Susquehanna also tries to maintain a stable workforce, so tellers get to know their customers, Miller said.

Tellers show a suspect check to the bank's security department, which can quickly determine if it's legitimate.

In extreme cases, bank managers might contact an older customer's family or the county Office of Aging, Miller said.

"We don't do it lightly," he said. "We feel we do that in a way that doesn't compromise confidentiality. Sometimes you run the risk of people getting mad at you. We have to do what's right for our customers."

Miller once confronted a customer he'd waited on more than 30 years ago as a teller. The man was sending money to a fraudulent company in Costa Rica.

It was clearly a scam, but the customer wouldn't hear of it. When Miller could think of no other way to help, he finally asked the man to close his account.

"We can't save people from their own behavior," he said. "Sometimes we just can't stop it."

mschweigert@lnpnews.com