"We are NOT a bank."

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General Manager Kent Hanstein posted it after a scam artist asking for change walked away with $90.

A quick thinking clerk caught the man's license plates and tipped off the police, who arrested the man and a friend.

At the truck stop, Hanstein posted the sign to help prevent future scams.

"No more change. No more switching $100 bills," he said. "If they want to exchange money, they can find a bank. We're done being the nice guys."

Hanstein said the truck stop falls prey to scam artists about every six months. He has also installed security cameras to catch any thieves on film.

"We've had these kind come through before. They try to take advantage of you when you're really busy, and they might pick on someone who is young or looks like they just started," Hanstein said. "It's been going on forever. This is their profession."

His suggestion for other businesses is to plan ahead for people trying to pull scams.

"Get a camera that records everything," he said. "Make your cashiers aware of possible scams."

And, he said, don't make change for people.

Captain Dennis Folkema of the Le Mars Police agreed.

"The biggest thing is not giving out change for bigger bills when they aren't even a legitimate customer -- they didn't come into your business to buy something," he said. "The thing we've seen every time is an individual comes into a business either offering a large bill and asking for change, or a handful of smaller bills and wanting to change it for a big bill. You have to be careful changing bills."

Fortunately, he said, the clerk at the Le Mars Truck Stop was very vigilant.

"Right away she realized something was going on and confronted him, then got his license plate and the direction he left," Folkema said. "Thanks to that information, we were able to track them down."

The two men, Scott Richard Coxworth, 30, and Christopher Wayne Swinger, 24, both of Minnesota, were jailed and charged with theft in both Le Mars and Sheldon.

"At this point we haven't got word than any businesses other than the truck stop got hit," Folkema said. "But any business that would like us to come talk to them about scams, we'd be more than happy."

Have higher prices for gas and other goods increased the number of scams? At the Le Mars Truck Stop, Hanstein didn't think so.

"You're going to have more theft and more drive offs," he said.

With the gas prices higher, a lot of gas stations are having customers pay before they pump.

But he hasn't seen scams increase.

"I just hope it doesn't get like that," he said.