SOUTH SOUND: Man posing as deputy calls for bail money

THE OLYMPIAN | • Published November 24, 2009

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The Olympia Police Department has received three reports of a man who impersonates a Thurston County sheriff’s deputy and calls businesses to say he arrested one of their employees, who needs bail money.

The man identified himself as deputy Jerry Porter – Thurston County does not have a deputy by this name. The man asks leading questions about the worker, getting the victims to provide the name of another employee, which the caller then uses in the conversation, along with some basic information about the business. The caller comes across as believable and friendly, and appears to know employees from patronizing their business in the past, police said.

The caller goes on to say that the arrested person has cash for bail, but the jail doesn’t accept cash. He says the jail would accept money being wired to it and the cost is 10 percent of the $8,000 bail.

The caller tells the victim the most convenient locations to wire money. In these three cases, the caller mentioned Wal-Mart twice and Ralph’s Thriftway. The man was successful in one of three attempts.

In a similar incident, a woman told The Columbian newspaper in Vancouver, Wash., that she wired money to a caller who identified himself as deputy Jim Potter. The man said her friend needed bail money, which turned out to be untrue.

If you receive such a call, police recommend not giving out any information about yourself or co-workers. Neither the Olympia Police Department nor the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office operates in this manner.