The Stop & Shop grocery store lost nearly $5,000 after a caller who pretended to be the company’s chief operational adviser contacted an employee overnight between Aug. 22 and Aug. 23, according to the Hopewell Township Police Department.
The scammer provided instructions to the employee under the guise of an Occupational Safety and Health Administration and fire department walkthrough of the store. The employee was also told that a FedEx delivery was set to be made that night and required payment.
The employee was told to communicate with another person via WhatsAp, who was identified as the store manager. The pretend store manager told the employee to remove money from the self-checkout registers and to deposit the money into a Bitcoin ATM. The employee was also told to buy Xbox gift cards.
The total loss to the store was $4,789.86. The employee also sent $2,000 in personal funds to the scammers.
