Eatery falls for strip-search prank

Salt Lake County sheriff's investigators aren't laughing at a nationwide prank caller who tells people to strip-search fellow employees.

Employees at Applebees, 5760 S. Redwood Road, recently fell victim to the alleged prankster and forced a female employee to take off all her clothes.

A caller who identified himself as either a Salt Lake County or Salt Lake City officer called the restaurant Oct. 16, according to a Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office report.

The caller claimed one of the restaurant's employees stole money from a customer and needed to be searched, the report stated. The person then asked the employee who answered the phone to describe all the waitresses working at the restaurant and to name them. The employee may have also given the caller names of male employees, the report stated.

After receiving the names, the caller told the employee that a waitress, 42, needed to be searched. The other employees were then threatened with arrest if the waitress was not strip-searched, according to the report.

The prank caller also told the employees the waitress would be strip-searched in jail if they did not follow his orders, according to the report. Despite her repeated protests, the waitress complied and undressed.

When a real sheriff's deputy arrived at the restaurant, the woman was in tears. Further investigation by deputies revealed that two other local Applebees were contacted by the same prank caller, but employees at those restaurants did not take the caller seriously and dismissed his demands, the police report stated.

The same prank has happened at a number of restaurants nationwide, particularly in the Florida area, said Salt Lake County sheriff's deputy Peggy Faulkner.

The majority of calls, including the one to the Utah Applebees, are being made from a pay phone in Florida, and the person is calling collect. Faulkner said that alone should be a big red flag for restaurant workers.

Law enforcers never conduct an investigation on the phone by calling collect, and they would never ask someone to search another employee, she said. Although it seems hard to imagine someone would fall for such a prank, Faulkner said it happens more often than not.

"It sounds ridiculous. Why would anyone fall for this? But (the prankster) says 'under the threat of arrest.' People are concerned they are going to get arrested."

Faulkner said if you have any doubt about the validity of a phone call from police, call that department back and have them send an officer to your business.

Police did not have any suspects.

The Utah waitress who was strip-searched was given a week's vacation with pay. She and her co-workers were also advised to stay away from each other until the investigation was completed.

A spokesman for Applebees could not be reached for comment.

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