The festive St. Patrick’s Day mood inside Northeast Bank in Bethel quickly turned serious March 17 as tellers began describing a rise in sophisticated scams targeting local customers.

“The scammers are getting more crafty. They are telling the customers what to tell the bankers,” said Lloyd Sweetser, vice president senior banking center manager.

“They are feeding them the exact lines,” added teller Becca Tuttle.

Tellers Jane Piccininni, Katie Chambers and Dharma Brown agreed that many customers arrive ashamed, embarrassed or afraid.

In the moment, “You feel fear: ‘If I don’t do this, oh my God, I’m going to lose my money,'” said Piccininni.

The tellers said customers are often more forthcoming with Sweetser because of his long-standing relationships.

They described one case in which a customer was not truthful about large withdrawals.

“We were asking questions, and this customer wasn’t telling us, on the front line, the truth. We advised (Sweetser). He was able to get the truth,” Tuttle said.

“Having that open trust in your relationship with your banker, knowing it’s a judgement-free zone,” is important, explained Tuttle.

Stories like these are not hypothetical.

A few years ago, when Sylvia Soule, 75, was living in the Muskie Building in Rumford, “an alert came across her computer,” said her son, Tom Gilbert, of Rumford. “A virus had been detected and if she didn’t take care of it, her computer would crash.”

When she called the number on the screen, the man who answered said the only way he would take payment was through gift cards. Soule did not know gift cards are untraceable and nonrefundable.

After purchasing about $1,200 in gift cards at a nearby Walgreens, she called the scammer back and read him the numbers.

What saved her from losing $3,200, her son said, was Walgreens policy limiting the amount of gift cards that can be purchased in a day.

When the scammer called again the next day requesting the rest of the $3,200, Gilbert was there to respond. He alerted police, but they said the number was untraceable.

“I’d like to see this get out there, especially for the elderly people,” Gilbert said. “They get panicked. If you tell them there is jail time, they just pay. I don’t want to see other people be taken out of their hard-earned money.”

According to Rumford Police Department Officer Justin Cummings, an eight-year veteran of the agency, anytime anyone asks for a payment in gift cards, “99% of the time it is a scam,” he said. “No legitimate agency will ask you that.

“Scammers make mistakes. I like fighting the criminals,” Cummings said. “They slip up once in a while … Real results can come sometimes.”

With regard to financial institutions acting as a barrier and Walgreens having a limit on gift cards, he said, “The more people you have looking out for our victims, the better. Law enforcement is a team.”

Cummings said his department commonly deals with impersonation scams. One popular scam is when a caller pretends to be a law enforcement officer, someone from the IRS, or a utility company, demanding an immediate payment before services are shut off. He said those are “absolutely bogus.”

“If someone is creating a sense of urgency, and telling you to keep this secret or asking you for unusual forms of payment, those are major red flags,” Cummings said.

“If it’s law enforcement (impersonation) they will make something up, like we need $300 in Apple gift cards or there is going to be a warrant for your arrest,” Cummings added. “If IRS or law enforcement wants you or needs you, you’re going to get a uniformed person at your door or a certified letter.”

He said fake sellers on Facebook Marketplace or Craig’s List are also becoming more common. “Whether it is reported to us or not, it happens every day,” he said.

He said it is important to report scam phone calls to local law enforcement. “We are always a phone call away,” Cummings said.

Sweetser, of Northeast Bank, encourages bank customers to be vigilant.

“In my 21 years, I have seen more (scams) than I’d like to,” Sweetser said. “Be cautious of things and really know who you are dealing with.”