What to Know
- A man who said he was from McDonald's corporate called a franchise in NJ and told the employee to take all funds out of the safe
- Police say the caller got a taxi to pick up the employee and take the worker to a store to use the funds to buy gift cards
- The employee then gave those gift cards to the caller to "help save jobs" and went back to work
Authorities are looking for a man in connection with a bizarre scam involving a New Jersey McDonald's.
Officials say the unidentified man called a McDonald's on Route 202 in Hackettstown around 6:30 a.m. Wednesday and told the employee who answered that he was from corporate.
The caller told the employee to collect any funds in the fast-food restaurant's safe and use them to buy gift cards so corporate could "deposit the money to help save jobs," police say.
The man "from corporate" arranged for a taxi to pick up the employee, and the cab drove the employee to a store to buy $1,200 in gift cards. The employee dropped off the gift cards to the "man from corporate" and went back to the restaurant. Cops responded to a call about a possible theft there shortly thereafter.
The Hackettstown Detective Bureau and the Warren County Prosecutor's Office are investigating.
"People are reminded to be very cautious of any caller demanding money or payment immediately," Hackettstown police said in a statement.
