As I was finishing up my own business, an elderly man who used a walker came in and, as I was leaving, started pulling out big bundles of what were probably $100 bills and said he wanted to buy some money orders. The clerks all seemed to be very familiar with this man, and said that the amount he had warranted a call to the Postal Inspector.
Could that possibly be what I think it may have been, which is someone being taken advantage of by a scammer, quite likely foreign? If that’s the case, I sure hope I never lose my mind like that. 
He very well could be the victim of a scam. However, I have seen people like him myself that weren’t. They were just people that lived their life in cash and didn’t trust banks. If they needed to buy anything with a large amount of money, they just bought a money order for it (I never used them but that is what they are for). We used to get people like that frequently in the small town supermarket that I worked at in high school. Old people, especially old black men, would come in with huge amounts of money all rolled up and buy a money order with it at the customer service desk. As far as I could tell, most of those transactions were legitimate. They just had a large expense that they needed to pay but they didn’t have a checking account.
It is wise that the clerks had the Postal Inspector to take a closer look to see if there is any type of mail fraud going on. That is their job and the person on the other end will be in a world of legal trouble if that is the case but it is probably just a case of an older person only knowing how to do something one way because that is the way they have done it their entire life.
My dad flat-out refuses to use anything other than cash and has a substantial amount hidden in the house. I can see him doing something like that, except he probably would refuse to use a money order, too.
Yeah, could be a scam. My dad rarely pays in anything other than cash, either. Now that he’s starting to show signs of dementia, I keep a closer eye on the money going out of his accounts.
And what would the postal inspector do, anyway? Can he ask the old man what the money is for? Can he refuse to issue the money order?
In particular, if the mail is addressed to a foreign address, what might happen? If the inspector thinks it’s a Nigerian scammer (or ever if it’s blatantly obvious), he can’t do much about it, other than refuse to allow the money order. Is that it?
Having worked in a gas station that sold money orders, it’s a pretty common thing. Even people that have checking accounts, rarely have checks anymore. Most banks don’t give them for free anymore. I have a checking account and there have been a few times I couldn’t use a debit card or cash and had to use a money order.
More likely they would be wondering if he got that much cash legally. The government is looking for people laundering drug money or other money which may have been obtained illegally.
So all he has to do is show the postal inspector how he legally obtained the money. If he can’t do that, then he may be in hot water!