Last spring, an unsuspecting elderly couple came into Alpena Alcona Area Credit Union in Alpena, Mich., to discuss a loan. Their loan interviewer, Jamaican Beaudoin, was helping them when the couple said two words that set off alarms that something was amiss.
"The key words that she picked up on, it's one we're all listening for, is when [they said] Western Union," said Donald J. Mills, president/CEO of the $248 million credit union. "They were going to utilize Western Union to transfer the funds back to the perpetrators. The problem when you use Western Union, if you do determine you've been defrauded after the fact, you can't get your money back. When you hear Western Union you have to hit the brakes and ask more questions of your members."
And ask questions she did.
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