This story was another illustration of the phenomenon of why people don't ask "Why me?" Why would the Teletype officer give this information to some sheriff's deputy he didn't know—or, in this case, a stranger passing himself off as a sheriff's deputy—instead of suggesting he get the information from a fellow deputy or his own sergeant? Again, the only answer I can offer is that people rarely ask this question. It doesn't occur to them to ask? They don't want to sound challenging and unhelpful? Maybe. Any further explanation would just be guesswork. But social engineers don't care why; they only care that this little fact makes it easy to get information that otherwise might be a challenge to obtain.