His Excellency The Chairman of BudgetMart has Authorized Me To Place into Your Account...

  Scammers have always been a problem, but they have become so bad upper management has resorted to sending messages out several times daily reminding employees not to give away money.  The most worrisome has been the caller claiming to represent the very highest levels threatening to fire an employee if they don't give the winner of the lawsuit their court awarded damages.  It works very well.  We've been lucky; ours walked in with a letter written on notebook paper telling us to refund a long list of items.  We're just looking at her like "Aren't you even going to try?"

  Half of the issue is trust.  I was coming home from work once when I stopped by a drug store.  I was wearing standard retail type clothing, and the drug store was doing a reset.  I was trying to shop, and people were walking up to me asking me what to do.  So I told them.  "Ok,  you've got your plan-o-gram-o here and you want the top to be facing the front of the store..."   I looked like one of them, so it's reasonable to assume I was one of them.  They wouldn't have been able to function if everyone there had to ask everyone else for ID, then verify that the ID is valid, then verify that the verifier is who they say they are, and so on.  Eventually you have to stop and trust that someone is who they say (or dress) they are. 

  The other issue is intimidation.  In retail, the employee is the thief, and they let you know.  Our Loss Prevention Officer isn't a bully, but he does like to use the tricks.   "Getting a divorce?  Wow, I bet that's expensive."  Asks people what store they are from, then smiles and says he has heard some things about that store.  I suppose you have to do it, but it also creates employees who are afraid all the time and err on the side of being helpful.