‘Bogus Boss’ convinces motel staff to try breaking into safe by tossing it from window

STAFFORD Co., Va. (WWBT) - The Stafford County Sheriff’s Office said a “bogus boss” convinced staff at a motel to try to break into a safe by tossing it from the window.

The sheriff’s office was called on Dec. 4 to a county motel for a fraud investigation. The name of the motel was withheld to protect the victims.

“Staff reported a caller, masquerading as the motel owner, convinced the employees to break into a safe,” a release said.

The sheriff’s office said employees thought they were talking to the actual motel owner and broke windows to get into a room with the safe.

“The impersonating proprietor proceeded to persuade the clerks to break into the safe by tossing it from a window. The stubborn safe, like the members of the marching band in Don McLean’s song “American Pie,” refused to yield,” a release said.

Still determined, the staff threw the safe from a second-story window, but the safe still stayed locked.

Then the staff got help from a motel guest. The third attempt was the charm, as they were able to open it.

“Staff was next instructed to wire the money to the bogus boss’s bank account. Fortunately, the small amount of money from the safe was not wired and is back in the custody of the true owner,” the sheriff’s office said.

The sheriff’s office reminds employees to watch out for phone scams requesting money be wired or sent via gift cards.

“This is not the first case we have seen of fictitious manager fraud, but this is the most determined we have seen staff attempt to comply,” a release said.

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