Whataburger Manager Falls Victim To Phone Scam, Loses Store Cash

A manager at the Century Whataburger fell victim to a phone scam, using about $2,000 in restaurant cash to buy gift cards for the scammer, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.

The manager received a phone call from what she believed to be the Whataburger corporate office in which she was told to take all the money out of the registers and go buy gift cards at a retail store, Amber Southard, spokesperson for the ECSO said.

The call appeared to originate from the Whataburger corporate office, with the caller providing a Whataburger employee identification number and following various corporate policies, Southard said. The manager called the number back and it was answered by what sounded like a Whataburger phone system that allowed the store manager to reach the caller’s extension.

The manager “partially closed” the restaurant on North Century Boulevard and took the cash to a retail store to purchase the gift cards as instructed. Due to limits at that store, she was only able purchase a few gift cards and she went to another store to purchase more cards. She had been instructed to provide the gift cards and PIN numbers to the caller.

The incident was reported to the Sheriff’s Office at about 3 a.m. Tuesday. When investigators called the phone number later that day, they reached a recording indicating it was a Church’s Chicken office.

“It appears they changed the recording, possible continuing with their scam,” Southard said.

The Sheriff’s Office found that several of the gift cards had already been used by the scammer to purchase items from the eBay online auction site.

“Taking all the cash from a business and buying gift cards is usually not what an employer is going to ask you to do,” Southard said. “People should always use caution when a caller is asking them to buy gift cards.”

No charges have been filed in the incident, and the manager has not been accused of any wrongdoing.

Pictured: The Whataburger restaurant on North Century Boulevard in Century. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.