FOND DU LAC, Wis. (WFRV) – A local UPS employee is being hailed a hero after helping stop a scam that would have left an elderly person out over $20,000.

Earlier this week, an employee working at a local UPS store in Fond du Lac reportedly noticed that something did not appear right when an elderly citizen brought a package to the store for delivery.

Sensing something was off, the employee reached out to the distribution center and alerted personnel to the suspicious circumstances.

Shortly after, a detective from the Fond du Lac Police Department was contacted and who then proceeded to reach out to the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office for further assistance.

Detectives from the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office, Eric Muellenbach and David Olig, took lead on this investigation and followed up with the UPS store in Fond du Lac.

After taking possession of the package in question, the detectives used the return label printed on the package to make contact with the victim. The victim was reportedly from the Waupun area.

After further investigation, detectives determined that the elderly citizen had in fact fallen victim to a scam.

Apparently, scammers had been contacting the victim over various platforms and convincing them to send money to an address in California.

Officials reported that the package that the victim was going to send to the scammers contained $22,560 in cash from the victim.

The Sheriff’s Office shared that they are grateful that this UPS employee had the wherewithal to recognize the concerning circumstances involving the shipping of this package and reported it to law enforcement.

“We should all be proud of the caring actions of the UPS employee and detectives involved in the returning of this money to its rightful owner. Please let this serve as a reminder that scammers will go to extraordinary lengths to attempt to take advantage of our elderly community,” wrote the sheriff’s office.

This incident remains under investigation.