Samiksha Jaiswal (Editor)

Gas leak phone call scam

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The gas leak phone call scam is a series of incidents in 2016. The incidents involve a person prank calling a restaurant, claiming to be a fire department official and then convincing managers to break all the windows to prevent a gas explosion occurring due a supposed gas leak. The calls have been most often placed at fast food restaurants in the United States.

Incidents

A caller who identifies themselves as a firefighter or other authority figure contacts a manager or supervisor and would solicit their help in combating a gas leak at the restaurant by breaking all the windows causing thousands of dollars in damages to the establishment.

Some notable incidents were:

  • Two calls were reported on January 30, 2016: one at a Wendy's restaurant in Phoenix, Arizona and a Burger King restaurant in Morro Bay, California.
  • On February 2, 2016 a Jack in the Box restaurant in Tucson, Arizona.
  • On April 7, 2016, a Burger King restaurant in Shawnee, Oklahoma where workers were told to break the windows due to build-up of carbon monoxide.
  • On April 8, 2016, a Burger King restaurant in Coon Rapids, Minnesota.
  • On April 10, 2016, a Jack in the Box restaurant in Indianapolis, Indiana.

    • References

    Gas leak phone call scam Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA