Active Investigation into WSF Commuter Ticket Fraud

— by Margie Doyle —

County Sheriff Rob Nou confirmed that there is an active investigation underway regarding reports of fraudulent use of “commuter” ferry ticket numbers at the Washington State Ferries (WSF) toll booth in Anacortes.

There has been no response, other than acknowledgment of an active investigation regarding this matter, to requests to Washington State Ferries’ communications and administration staff Susan Harris, Marta Coursey and George Capacci regarding a breach of WSF’s computer ticket system. The breach enables thieves to steal unused rides on 5-passage commuter tickets by simply reporting the numbers on the bar code of the Wave2Go tickets, without presenting the ticket or a photocopy of the ticket itself.

Peter Bohr, one of the ticket purchasers affected, said, “Ferry officials are aware of the situation but have yet to warn purchasers that their $138.90 passes are vulnerable to theft. Nor does it appear that ferry officials have taken any steps to alter their data-porous system or take any other steps to deter the thefts.”

Bohr recounts his experience: “On April 2, I purchased a pass and used one ride. Less than three weeks later on April 22, I again used the pass and was told by the ticket agent at the Anacortes terminal that I had no uses left. I protested that I had not used the ferry since I purchased the pass and that the pass had been in my sole possession since I bought it. After consulting his computer, the agent listed the three other dates that I had supposedly used the pass.

“I’ve talked to two officials at WSF,and to Sheriff’s Department Officer Herb Crowe, among others. It seems the thefts have been going on for several months; all these people know about them; and the thefts have only affected Orcas Island riders.”

When asked what ticket holders could do to protect their multiple-purpose ticket, Sheriff Nou said purchasers should “protect their tickets and not allow the bar code or numbers to be photocopied.

“It is not a widespread issue at this point,” said Nou. “We are working with the ferries.”

Victims of this crime and law enforcement officers have both suggested that WSF require riders to show the actual pass to ticket agents — or at least a photocopy or a virtual copy (on a smartphone). At present, WSF only requires riders to provide the numbers of a pass, which apparently thieves are able to obtain from WSF’s computer system.

Bohr says, “Susan Harris of WSF emailed me an ‘incident request’ form and indicated that I might get credit once — and if — the Sheriff’s investigation comes to some sort of resolution. In the meantime, I’ve stopped payment with my credit card company and have put the charge into dispute.”

Both ferry officials and the County Sheriff urge people who have been affected by this scam to contact the Sheriff’s office: email RobN@sanjuanco.com