u/SituationMundane5452

Hi everyone.

I was in the post office this morning (UK) and there was an elderly gentleman (maybe 70 years old) at the counter in front of me, he was sending money to Thailand, I didn’t catch the exact amount but it was thousands of pounds.

The guy behind the counter who was serving him was asking a lot of questions:-

Q- Do you know who you are sending to?
A- Yes I’ve been speaking to her for months

Q- what are you sending it for?
A- she is planning a trip to UK to visit me I said I would help fund her trip

Q- Have you ever actually met or seen this person?
A- Not in person but I’ve spoken to her on video calls

At this point I stepped in as the Que was now 10-12 people long. I asked if there was a family member who we might be able to contact who knows you are sending this money and confirm it is all above board? The guy seemed to just shrug me off as I wasn’t a post office employee.

The guy working at the post office processed the payment and the elderly man went on his way. He even said to me when I approached the counter with my parcel “I shouldn’t have do that, I’m going to be thinking about this with regret all day”

Everything about this encounter just felt wrong, to me the guy was clearly being scammed.

Was there anything I could have done to prevent this poor guy from being a victim? Would the police have entertained this and acted fast enough to prevent him sending the money?

I left the post office feeling so frustrated and annoyed at myself but I just felt there wasn’t anything I could do the change the guys mind