MEDFORD, Ore. – The Medford Police Department is issuing a warning after a local Subway restaurant was scammed. Officers said it happened this weekend and cost the business and its employee.
Police said the scam was reported to them around 2 a.m. on Saturday. The employee told officers someone called the restaurant and claimed to be from Subway’s corporate office.
According to police, the scammer convinced the employee to close the store, count the money, buy a prepaid gift card and send the codes to the caller. Police said the employee also gave the scammer their personal bank account information to receive a reward for their work.
MPD Lieutenant Mike Budreau explained, “As we’ve seen with scams, they can be really convincing, they will not let the person off the phone, you know, and then the person usually feels like their job is at risk if they do not comply with this.”
Police said the scammers typically live out of the area and even in a different country. They said because the crime takes place over the phone it’s usually impossible to track the scammer down.
In 2016, Yogurt Hut was nearly scammed out of hundreds of dollars by a caller claiming to be from Pacific Power. They threatened to shut off the business’s power over past due bills. Yogurt Hut narrowly avoided falling victim.
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