Date Location Establishment Incident details
1994 Petersburg, Virginia ? [1]
Hopewell, Virginia ?
Colonial Heights, Virginia ?
April 1994 Collinsville, Illinois Hardee's (may or may not be related, no caller mentioned)[2]
August 4, 1994 Ashtabula, Ohio McDonald's A man claiming to be a sheriff's deputy called the restaurant, stating that a customer's purse was stolen from the restaurant. The caller told two minor females working at the restaurant to allow the manager to strip search them.[3]
March 7, 1995 Devils Lake, North Dakota Pizza Hut From Louisville Courier-Journal article 'A hoax most cruel'[4][5]
June 17, 1995 Fallon, Nevada McDonald's
1996 Starkville, Mississippi Pizza Hut A man claiming to be an Oktibbeha County deputy sheriff called the restaurant and accused an employee of stealing money from a restaurant customer. The manager of the restaurant was summoned to the restaurant in order to strip search the employee.[6]
August 30, 1996 Franklin, Kentucky Burger King [7]
September 9, 1998 Watertown, South Dakota Blockbuster Video [5]
October 29, 1998 Brookfield, Wisconsin McDonald's [8]
December 23, 1998 Toano, Virginia McDonald's [9][10]
January 20, 1999 Fargo, North Dakota Burger King From Louisville Courier-Journal article 'A hoax most cruel'.[4] A manager slapped the naked buttocks of a 17-year-old female employee after being instructed by someone on the phone claiming to be a police officer.
Grand Forks, North Dakota Discount store [11]
June 3, 1999 Zanesville, Ohio McDonald's [12]
December 16, 1999 Blackfoot, Idaho Pizza parlor A 16-year-old female server working at a local pizza parlor was taken to the manager's office after a phone call made by a individual only identifying as "Officer Davis" for the Blackfoot Police Department, accused an employee of stealing a woman's purse with a $50 bill in it earlier that evening. The caller convinced the manager to strip-search the employee and to provide detailed descriptions of her naked body, including her breasts and genitalia. The incident ended when a 22-year-old male colleague of the victim came into the room and intervened, with the male employee confronting the "officer" on the phone before the caller hung up.[13]
April 1, 2000 Delaware, Ohio ? [5]
July 24, 2000 Helena, Montana McDonald's [5]
McDonald's
August 15, 2000 Baton Rouge, Louisiana Ruby Tuesday (may or may not be related, no caller mentioned)[14]
October 5, 2000 Bismarck, North Dakota Wendy's [15]
Wendy's
Taco Bell
November 30, 2000 Leitchfield, Kentucky McDonald's From Louisville Courier-Journal article 'A hoax most cruel'. The restaurant manager undressed herself in the presence of a customer. The caller had convinced her that the customer was a "suspected sex offender" and that the manager, serving as bait, would enable undercover police officers to arrest him.[4]
December 12, 2000 Claypool Hill, Virginia McDonald's [5]
2001 Charleston, West Virginia Hooters The restaurant manager told two female employees that a police officer had called the restaurant and reported a stolen change purse. The caller told the women to strip in front of the manager and threatened them with arrest if they did not do so.[16]
January 2, 2001 Pearl, Mississippi McDonald's [5]
February 19, 2001 Lake Mary, Florida Wendy's [5]
March 1, 2001 Minot Air Force Base Burger King [17][5]
March 6, 2001 Vail, Colorado McDonald's [5]
March 7, 2001 Zanesville, Ohio Taco Bell [18]
April 27, 2001 Denison, Texas McDonald's [5]
May 3, 2001 Linton, Indiana McDonald's [5]
May 18, 2001 Louisa, Kentucky McDonald's [5]
July 15, 2001 Odessa, Texas Burger King [19]
September 5, 2001 Belmont, North Carolina Taco Bell [5]
November 1, 2001 Ottumwa, Iowa Burger King [20][21]
Charleston, West Virginia Hardee's [5]
December 17, 2001 Noblesville, Indiana Arby's [22]
Burger King Employee refused to comply with caller's orders[22]
Pendleton, Indiana Burger King [5]
December 20, 2001 Billings, Montana Video Library [5]
December 26, 2001 ? [23]
April 16, 2002 Wichita, Kansas Applebee's [5]
May 29, 2002 Roosevelt, Utah McDonald's From Louisville Courier-Journal article 'A hoax most cruel'.[4] An 18-year-old female McDonald's employee on her first day on the job was forced to strip naked, jog in place, and assume several poses, all in the direction of a caller on the phone.[24]
November 25, 2002 Statesboro, Georgia Taco Bell A manager at the restaurant received a call from a "detective" claiming that a purse had been stolen from the lobby. The manager then took a 19-year-old female employee (based on the caller's description) to the manager's office, where he completely striped the victim of her uniform, reading the clothing tags for the caller on the other end, and put them in a safe. During the incident, at the caller's orders, the manager also forced the employee to exercise before rubbing and inspecting most of her body, especially the orifices. The caller claimed this was to see if any sweat had revealed signs of "green residue" on her body, indicating that she had made contact with the supposedly stolen money.[25]
Ruby Tuesday [5]
January 22, 2003 Wichita, Kansas Village Inn [5]
January 26, 2003 Davenport, Iowa Applebee's From Louisville Courier-Journal article 'A hoax most cruel'.[4] An assistant manager subjected a waitress to a 90-minute strip-search after receiving a collect call from someone who purported to be a regional manager for Applebee's.
February 2, 2003 Hinesville, Georgia McDonald's The female manager (who believed she was speaking to a police officer who was with the director of operations for the restaurant's upper management) took a female employee into the women's bathroom and strip-searched her. She also brought in a 55-year-old male janitor, who conducted a body cavity search of the woman to "uncover hidden drugs". The cavity search entailed the janitor probing the employee's vagina with his fingers.[26]
February 19, 2003 Bozeman, Montana Wendy's [5]
February 26, 2003 Bismarck, North Dakota Unnamed restaurant [27]
March 11, 2003 Marshalltown, Iowa Perkins Restaurant & Bakery [21]
Mason City, Iowa [5]
March 16, 2003 Dover, Delaware Burger King [5]
April 23, 2003 Charleston, West Virginia Applebee's [5]
May 9, 2003 Bartlesville, Oklahoma Taco Bell [5]
June 3, 2003 Aurora, Colorado Burger King [5]
Juneau, Alaska Taco Bell From Louisville Courier-Journal article 'A hoax most cruel'.[4] A manager received a call by a man supposedly working for the company that he was investigating drug abuse at the restaurant where the manager worked. The manager then picked a 14-year-old female customer who he believed to be the suspect, where he proceeded to strip-search the customer and made her perform several lewd acts at the caller's request.
June 5, 2003 Rapid City, South Dakota Hardee's A manager was manipulated into strip-searching a female server and holding her against her will in his office for 3 hours after being told by a caller, claiming to be a officer for the city police, that an employee had stolen money from a customer. After searching her and finding no evidence of theft, the caller then instructed the manager to check the employee for drugs instead, before telling him to touch intimate areas of the victim's body.[28]
June 10, 2003 Perkins Restaurant & Bakery [5]
June 20, 2003 West Plains, Missouri Taco Bell [5]
June 30, 2003 Idaho Falls, Idaho Burger King [5]
July 11, 2003 Panama City, Florida Winn-Dixie A manager received a phone call instructing him to bring a female cashier (who matched a description provided by the caller) into an office where she was to be strip-searched. The cashier was forced to undress and assume various poses as part of the search. The incident ended when another manager entered the office to retrieve a set of keys.[29]
August 2003 Charleston, West Virginia Applebee's [30]
August 23, 2003 Boise, Idaho Pizza Hut [5]
October 5, 2003 Wright County, Minnesota Burger King [5]
October 16, 2003 Taylorsville, Utah Applebee's A shift supervisor strip-searched a 42-year-old waitress after a "police officer" on the phone threatened to arrest staff members if they did not comply with his orders.[31]
October 31, 2003 Wynne, Arkansas McDonald's [5]
November 2003 Claremore, Oklahoma restaurant managed by LDF Food Group, Inc. [32]
December 2, 2003 Sherman, Texas Pizza Hut [5]
December 5, 2003 York, Nebraska Wendy's [5]
December 17, 2003 Dubuque, Iowa McDonald's [5]
December 18, 2003 Bismarck, North Dakota Blockbuster Video The caller accused an employee of theft and stated that the employee could be searched by a manager because of Blockbuster's "privacy policy".[33]
Mandan, North Dakota Movie Gallery The employee refused to go along with the caller's orders[34]
January 2, 2004 South Portland, Maine Pizza Hut [5]
Portland, Maine Kennel Shop [5]
February 5, 2004 Gresham, Oregon Burger King [5]
February 13, 2004 Richmond, Kentucky Bob Evans [5]
February 18, 2004 Collinsville, Illinois Burger King [5]
February 20, 2004 West Bridgewater, Massachusetts Wendy's Four separate Wendy's restaurant branches within Plymouth County, Massachusetts (West Bridgewater, Abington, Whitman, and Wareham) were the targets of a strip-search phone call hoax in the course of a single night.[35]
Abington, Massachusetts
Whitman, Massachusetts
Wareham, Massachusetts
March 17, 2004 Dubuque, Iowa Musicland [36]
March 22, 2004 Fountain Hills, Arizona Taco Bell A young female customer (a 17-year-old high school student on her spring break vacation enjoying lunch with her two friends) was strip-searched by a 39-year-old male manager in the backroom supposedly at the request of a police officer on the phone.[37]
March 25, 2004 Grand Island, Nebraska Movie Gallery [38]
April 9, 2004 Mount Washington, Kentucky McDonald's Strip search phone call scam#The Mount Washington incident
May 26, 2004 Joplin, Missouri Sonic Drive-In From Louisville Courier-Journal article 'A hoax most cruel'.[4][39]
Country Kitchen [39]
Springfield, Missouri Fast-food restaurant
Fast-food restaurant
  1. ^ "Calls prompt probe". Richmond Times-Dispatch. 1994-05-19. p. 6. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  2. ^ Brinkmann, Paul (January 28, 1997). "Former employee sues restaurant". Alton Telegraph. pp. A-5. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  3. ^ Consolidated Investment v. Kemper Ins. (Ohio Court of Appeals December 23, 1999), Text.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Wolfson, Andrew (9 October 2005). "A hoax most cruel". The Courier-Journal.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am Strip search hoax map
  6. ^ Degruise By and Through Upchurch v. NPC Intern., Inc., 1:96CV210-S-A (Dist. Court, ND Mississippi. January 17, 1997).
  7. ^ "Sexual abuse against boss alleged here". The Franklin Favorite. 1996-10-10. p. 3. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  8. ^ "Female manager's strip search of male employee questioned". Sioux City Journal. 1998-12-04. p. 24. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  9. ^ "Strip search may have prompted copycat". The Virginia Gazette. 1999-01-23. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  10. ^ "Strip search of teen nets 54-year-old man abduction charge". The Virginia Gazette. 1998-12-30. p. 2. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  11. ^ "Strip search call to Grand Forks". The Bismarck Tribune. 1999-01-24. p. 10. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  12. ^ "McDonald's manager acquitted in strip search". Elyria Chronicle. October 20, 2000. pp. A9. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  13. ^ https://mix106radio.com/latest-trending-netflix-doc-highlights-dark-idaho-hoax-crime/
  14. ^ "Matthews v. Stewart - District Court, M.D. Louisiana - judyrecords". www.judyrecords.com. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  15. ^ "Search emotionally tough for workers". The Bismarck Tribune. 2000-10-07. p. 13. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  16. ^ Cornett Management v. Lexington Insurance Company, 07-2019 (Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit June 22, 2009).
  17. ^ "Woman sues restaurant over search". The Bismarck Tribune. 2001-07-04. p. 17. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  18. ^ "Police investigate strip search incident". The Times Recorder. 2001-03-22. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  19. ^ Rogers, Brian (May 1, 2002). "EEOC says strip search was illegal". Odessa American. p. 59. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  20. ^ Toopes, Cindy (March 21, 2003). "Ottumwa Police alert public to search scam". Ottumwa Courier. p. 4. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  21. ^ a b "Strip-search call tied to national cases". The Des Moines Register. 2003-04-02. p. 16. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  22. ^ a b Frederick, Diane (December 21, 2001). "Phone prankster gets fast food manager to strip search worker". The Indianapolis Star. p. 143. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  23. ^ "Hoax sex scams found elsewhere". The Billings Gazette. 2002-01-13. p. 21. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  24. ^ "Strip search epidemic continues". The Journal-Press. 2004-04-06. p. 4. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  25. ^ "Fogal v. Coastal Restaurant Management, Inc., 452 F. Supp. 2d 1286 (S.D. Ga. 2004)". Justia Law. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  26. ^ 30 March 2005, case 4:03‑cv‑00167‑JFN, United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, Savannah Division
  27. ^ "Prank caller convinces workers to strip". The Bismarck Tribune. 2003-03-01. p. 13. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  28. ^ Mitra, Shraman (2022-12-14). "Allan Mathis: Where is Hardee's Ex-Manager Now?". The Cinemaholic. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  29. ^ "Supermarket supervisor charged in strip search". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  30. ^ https://access-newspaperarchive-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/us/west-virginia/beckley/beckley-register-herald/2004/04-22/page-3/
  31. ^ "Restaurant falls for strip-search prank". Deseret News. 2003-11-03. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  32. ^ https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=13182289296495550168&q=strip+search+restaurant&hl=en&as_sdt=80006&as_ylo=1994&as_yhi=2007
  33. ^ ACUITY v. NORTH CENTRAL VIDEO, LLLP, 1:05-cv-010 (Dist. Court, D. North Dakota. May 7, 2007).
  34. ^ Albrecht, Mike (December 20, 2003). "Employee realizes call to strip was a prank". The Bismarck Tribune. p. 15. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  35. ^ "Hoax calls urged strip searches at restaurants". Lewiston Sun Journal. 2004-07-02. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  36. ^ "Fake cop gets bosses to strip-search workers". Cedar Rapids Gazette. March 20, 2004. pp. 2B. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  37. ^ Cooper, Anderson (30 March 2004). "Transcript". AC-360. CNN. Retrieved 4 January 2007.
  38. ^ "Strip search scam artist strikes in Nebraska". Omaha World-Herald. 2004-04-16. p. 20. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  39. ^ a b Lehr, Jeff (July 8, 2004). "Suspect arrested in strip-search investigation". The Joplin Globe. pp. 1A–11A. Retrieved March 15, 2023.