THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
March 30, 2004

Bizarre Hoaxes On Restaurants Trigger Lawsuits

By STEVEN GRAY
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

The restaurant industry is struggling to get in front of a bizarre
hoax in which outlet managers across the country have been duped into
strip-searching employees or customers.

Last week, a man allegedly claiming to be a police officer called a
Fountain Hills, Ariz., Taco Bell and told the manager to conduct a
strip search of a female he said had stolen a pocket book, and gave a
general description of what she was wearing. Pulling aside a
17-year-old female customer who roughly fit the description, the boss
complied. As in the other cases, no stolen property was found, though
this is the first search involving a customer rather than an employee.

It might seem implausible that any manager could be compelled by an
unknown caller to order someone to entirely disrobe and submit to a
humiliating search for drugs or stolen money. Or that someone would
succumb to such an examination. But investigators say there have been
dozens of similar cases since 1999, involving Burger King, Wendy's,
Applebee's and others. Similar incidents have been reported in
Massachusetts, South Dakota, Indiana, Utah and Ohio. The managers and
the victims of such incidents have been male and female. Investigators
have begun linking the cases and say they believe the hoaxes are the
work of a single person calling from North Florida public telephones
using a phone card.

His likely motive, they say: Not money, but power and perversion.

In the Arizona case, the caller allegedly posing as a police officer
remained on the phone to instruct the manager for each step of the
examination of his young customer, which included a demoralizing
cavity search, says Sheriff Joseph Arpaio of Marciopa County.

Discussing the March 22 hoax at the Phoenix suburb, the sheriff said
he was surprised the manager believed the phony policeman when he
insisted that the girl would go to jail if she didn't submit to the
search. "For any cop to call a private citizen and ask them to do a
search is wrong and beyond my imagination," he said. The sheriff says
he has sent letters to corporate headquarters of Taco Bell, Wendy's,
McDonald's, Hooters, Applebee's and Ruby Tuesday urging them to warn
restaurant managers of the fake calls.

These cases raise enormous, complex liability issues: Last summer, an
Odessa, Texas, Burger King franchise paid $35,000 to settle a civil
suit filed by an employee who alleged she was forced to submit to a
strip search by a male manager who received a similar phone call. The
restaurant's manager was arrested and charged with "illegal
restraint," and fined $500.

And last week, Wendy's International Inc. said it had been hit with
four lawsuits by former workers of Boston-area company-owned outlets.
In February, managers there, acting on a call from a man posing as a
police officer, ordered the workers to submit to a strip search for
allegedly stolen money.

Although these cases have been popping up for nearly five years, they
are beginning to gain the attention of the National Food Service
Security Council, a 25-year-old group of restaurant-industry security
executives. Industry insiders say the restaurant chains hesitated to
talk about the hoaxes because it was so embarrassing to the outlets
that were involved. Tom Briggs, a council spokesman, said the idea of
managers falling for the hoax points to a serious training flaw.
"Whoever this caller is must be a hell of a good con man," Mr. Briggs
says. "You'd think nobody would fall for this."

The National Restaurant Association, Wendy's, Taco Bell and Applebee's
are sending memos to restaurants telling managers that if they receive
suspicious calls, to ask for the caller's name and telephone number,
then hang up and contact local law-enforcement authorities.

"We're directing them not to take any action," says Laurie Schalow, a
spokeswoman for Taco Bell, a subsidiary of Yum! Brands Inc.,
Louisville, Ky.

Since last month's incidents, Wendy's has sent letters making clear to
restaurant managers that "searches of employees must be visual and not
physical. And physical means under no circumstances will an employee
be asked to removed articles of clothing that covers the torso, except
for outer coats, shoes or a hat," says Bob Bertini, a Wendy's
spokesman.

Experts in employee-rights law and retail loss prevention say that
courts have upheld companies' rights to search lockers and e-mail, for
instance, so long as employees are told of the company's right to
search its property. Still, most experts agree that strip-searching is
an invasion of privacy, and that most companies move conservatively on
tips about possible thefts, probing for sufficient evidence before
accusing an employee.

Retailers, in general, have good reason to be on guard for internal
theft: Stores lose about $31.5 billion annually to inventory
shrinkage, about 48% of that from employee theft, according to the
University of Florida's Security Research Project.

Restaurants are cash-intensive businesses, and thus prime targets for
theft of items such as food, as well as robberies, burglaries and
theft of cash by employees. Still, experts say internal theft is
preventable, if only by using more rigorous measures of screening
prospective employees.

Fast-food outlets are particularly vulnerable to being duped this way,
says Kevin Tate, senior manager of retail work-force solutions at
Unicru Inc., a Portland, Ore., firm that advises companies on
loss-prevention issues. And a teenage supervisor of a fast-food store
could lack the maturity and professional experience to deal
effectively with such complex legal issues, he says.

"They don't have anywhere near the experience that a 30-year vice
president of loss prevention has," Mr. Tate says, suggesting that
companies beef up their management guidebooks to include tips from
senior security executives.

On Tue, 30 Mar 2004 10:35:21 -0600, wm wrote:

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
March 30, 2004

Bizarre Hoaxes On Restaurants Trigger Lawsuits

By STEVEN GRAY
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

The restaurant industry is struggling to get in front of a bizarre
hoax in which outlet managers across the country have been duped into
strip-searching employees or customers.

What do I take from this story? There are some seriously stupid
people on this planet.
--
Like a game of pick up stick played by ****ing lunatics

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
March 30, 2004

Bizarre Hoaxes On Restaurants Trigger Lawsuits

By STEVEN GRAY
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

The restaurant industry is struggling to get in front of a bizarre
hoax in which outlet managers across the country have been duped into
strip-searching employees or customers.

What do I take from this story? There are some seriously stupid
people on this planet.

What I'm wondering is, this guy is calling many states from North Florida .
.. . some of these restaurants are THOUSANDS of miles away from where he is
calling them from. Yet he's nailing descriptions of employees and now
customers closely enough that he's convincing store managers that the person
to be strip-searched is in the store. Assuming you are stupid enough to
strip-search someone in the store, I guess you could be stupid enough to not
pay too close attention to WHO you are strip-searching. Still, it's amazing
that the managers are finding anybody to strip-search based on a description
called in from thousands of miles away. If the description was "generic"
enough, you wouldn't be sure who to strip-search. I mean, if you call in 16
year old black female wearing black shoes and funny looking hat, that would
likely match half the employees on duty. So there must be some specific
information thrown into the description somehow. How's this guy coming up
with specifics for people from thousands of miles away? And now customers,
also? -Dave

"Dave C." wrote in
:

If the description was "generic"
enough, you wouldn't be sure who to strip-search. I mean, if you call
in 16 year old black female wearing black shoes and funny looking hat,
that would likely match half the employees on duty. So there must be
some specific information thrown into the description somehow. How's
this guy coming up with specifics for people from thousands of miles
away?

Cold reading, same as John Edwards, combined with authority response.
Start vague and narrow down fast as soon as you get some specifics from
the mark. As long as you establish that you're a cop first and make
increasingly right calls, there's a good chance the mark will discount
any wrong ones.

--
--Robert

"I did once get him to admit the beauty of Bembo," he adds, "a serif."

If the description was "generic"
enough, you wouldn't be sure who to strip-search. I mean, if you call
in 16 year old black female wearing black shoes and funny looking hat,
that would likely match half the employees on duty. So there must be
some specific information thrown into the description somehow. How's
this guy coming up with specifics for people from thousands of miles
away?

Cold reading, same as John Edwards, combined with authority response.
Start vague and narrow down fast as soon as you get some specifics from
the mark. As long as you establish that you're a cop first and make
increasingly right calls, there's a good chance the mark will discount
any wrong ones.


Man, if that's how he's doing it, you'd have to conclude that this perp is
pretty darned intelligent, and able to think quickly on his feet. It's
scary when the criminals have brains. -Dave

"Dave C." wrote in
:

Man, if that's how he's doing it, you'd have to conclude that this
perp is pretty darned intelligent, and able to think quickly on his
feet.

Not really. John Edwards actually makes money at it, and he seems like a
real dumbshit. I mean, he's clever enough, obviously, but I wouldn't want
to be stuck in an elevator with him and forced to make conversation for
hours on end.

--
--Robert

"I did once get him to admit the beauty of Bembo," he adds, "a serif."

What I'm really interested in hearing, as this case works out, is whether
this guy is just a prankster, or he's sitting on the phone polishing his
dolphin as the strip-searches are carried out.

--
--Robert

"I did once get him to admit the beauty of Bembo," he adds, "a serif."

On Tue, 30 Mar 2004 20:43:10 GMT, Robert Lee
eepee wrote:

What I'm really interested in hearing, as this case works out, is
whether
this guy is just a prankster, or he's sitting on the phone polishing
his
dolphin as the strip-searches are carried out.

I'm wondering if this prankster has a buddy with a cell phone?

Still, these mangers should be arrested and charged with public
stupidity.
--
Like a game of pick up stick played by ****ing lunatics

I'm wondering if this prankster has a buddy with a cell phone?


I don't think so. Look at the states that were hit. I guess a long-haul
trucker, but unlikely. I'm betting this asshole was working alone. -Dave

On Tue, 30 Mar 2004 10:35:21 -0600, wm wrote:

demoralizing
cavity search

This would be a great band name.

In article ,
Steve Wertz wrote:

Can you impersonate a police officer over the phone?

Well, I can't but a few years ago, I got a phone call after 10 pm one
night at home. When I answered, a guy with a heavy Nigerian accent told
me he was Detective So-and-so calling regarding an investigation.

Heh. I once worked with and around cops and lawyers, so I asked for his
city (it sounded like a long-distance call), division name and badge
number so I could verify his claim before speaking with him in any
official capacity.

He got real blustery and officious and repeated over and over "Hey! I'm
a COP!" When I couldn't get any information out of him, I said, "yeah
and I'm the district attorney" and hung up on him. Geez, what a moron.

wm wrote in message
...
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
March 30, 2004

Bizarre Hoaxes On Restaurants Trigger Lawsuits

By STEVEN GRAY
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

[..] outlet managers [..] strip-searching employees or customers.

[snip]
there have been dozens of similar cases since 1999
[snip]

Okay... "Dozens of cases since 1999" and "outlet managers." Must've been
a rrrrriiiiiiilllllleeeee slow news morning for this to grab a piece of
the WSJ.

As someone stated earlier in the thread, there are some REALLY STOOPID
people out there. Unfortunately, you can't legislate against that; no
matter how hard the courts might try.

The Ranger