Gillette’s UPS Store Employees, Led By Castleberry Are AARP Wyoming’s 2023 Fraud Fighters Of The Year

AARP Wyoming

Among AARP Wyoming’s three priorities is protecting its members from scams and fraud and in that spirit Troy Castleberry and his staff at the UPS Store in Gillette were named AARP Wyoming’s Fraud Fighters of The Year at an AARP Volunteer Recognition Banquet in Casper, Wednesday Oct. 11.

Castleberry is the franchise owner for the UPS Store in Gillette. Earlier this year a woman came into Castleberry’s UPS store and asked to ship what she said was a book. The woman then asked for $5,000 in insurance to ship what she said was a book. As it turns out, the package was $5,000 in cash that the woman was sending, unbeknownst to her, to a scammer in Florida. After involving the Gillette police, the woman was saved from the scam.

“The scam we got stopped was really a team effort,” Castleberry says. “Courtney was helping the woman who wanted to ship a package next-day-air to Florida. The woman wanted to insure what she said was a book for $5,000. That didn’t sit right with Courtney who told one of our other associates, Christie and they talked to me about it. I was able to work with the client and the police to get to a place where we knew the money was safe.”

Since that day, Castleberry says he and his office have continued to watch out for scams coming through their shop. That includes paying special attention to packages that are requested to be sent via next-day shipping, a commonality in many scams. His team is also asking those who are sending the package simply, “how do you know the recipient?”

Castleberry, the owner of the franchise, started the business in 2019 after moving to Gillette from Montana. He says if UPS recognizes an address someone is trying to ship a package to as one where fraud has been reported, it will notify the store employees. He says his staffers have also noticed that most of the time scammers request victims send packages by next-day air. Those are two of the ways his staff tries to protect its customers from falling prey to scammers. Whenever there is a next-day air package that seems a little suspicious, Castleberry says his staff now asks those shipping the package, “and how do you know the recipient?”

AARP’s Emphasis on Fraud Prevention
In the name of fighting scams and fraud attempts, AARP has developed the AARP Fraud Watch Network, a free resource for all.The network helps you to proactively spot scams, get guidance from our fraud specialists if you’ve been targeted, and feel more secure knowing that we advocate at the federal, state, and local levels to protect consumers and enforce the law.

AARP’s Fraudwatch Network was established in 2013 and offers a Fraud Resource Center with more than 60 tip sheets providing do’s and don’ts on common scams. AARP also shares Watchdog Alerts delivered to your email or cell phone on the latest scams and how to spot them. For more information, visit aarp.org/fraudwatchnetwork.

More recently, The AARP Fraud Watch NetworkTM and Volunteers of America (VOA) have created a new program called ReST, which stands for Resilience, Strength and Time. The ReST program was created to address the emotional impact of being a part of a scam or fraud event or attempt. ReST offers free peer discussion groups that are led by a facilitator and seek to provide emotional support for you and others in similar situations. If you wish, your family members may participate in the group — that’s up to you. Just go to aarp.org/fraud to register for an event.