Phone scam targets Bellingham restaurants

PETER JENSEN - THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

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Three Bellingham restaurants were the targets of a phone scam Friday, Nov. 20, although only one fell victim, according to police.

Someone called the restaurants, asked to speak to a manager, identified himself as a Whatcom County Sheriff's deputy and said an employee was in jail after being arrested for drunken driving, said Mark Young, spokesman for the Bellingham Police Department.

The person says he can't identify the employee because of disclosure laws, but asks the manager to list off employees, Young said. The scammer then confirms the employee as the one in jail, and says that $7,000 bail is needed to get that person out.

Rather than post the full amount, however, the scammer told managers they could wire 10 percent, or $700, to a bank account in Portland, Ore., that purportedly belongs to a bail bonds company, Young said.

Two of the managers balked and hung up, while one did wire money, Young said. Young said the Sheriff's Office never solicits bail, and people can check current jail bookings online by going to www.co.Whatcom.wa.us/sheriff/jail and clicking on the "jail press release/bookings" link.

Police have no suspects, and anyone with information about the scams, including the phone number the scammer used, should call 911.

"The best solution is prevention," Young said. "These things are easier to deter than they are to solve."