Free-Food Callers Get Earful: ‘Listen, You Bums . . . Get a Job’

Callers seeking information from a community program on free food distribution instead got a recorded message from an infiltrator who called them “bums” for “leeching” off the taxpayers.

A computer hacker apparently broke into the computer message system, bypassed security measures and substituted the original message with his own, said Salt Lake City police, who are seeking the man for possible charges of obscene communication.

“Hello, there. This is Aloysius Gutterschwartz of the Freebie Geebie Commodity Corporation,” the recording said. “Listen you bums, if you want cheese, go out and get a job and buy your own cheese. Who do you think you are, leeching on the taxpayers like this? Stop sleeping on park benches . . . and go out and get a job.”

Cathy Hoskins, director of the Community Action Program, said the bogus message, which apparently was entered over the weekend and was discovered on Monday, upset many callers.