Crime
Pub scammed by fraudsters who asked for one thousand 20p coins
A scam at the Royal Oak in Chorlton, Manchester, involved two conmen asking bar workers to change up their £200 worth of £10 notes for the same amount in £20 notes for his shop.
When staff took their money, the tricksters changed the request and asked for the money in 20p coins, according to police.
Bar staff said they didn’t have enough 20p coins – you would need one thousand to make up £200 - so the fraudsters asked for their money back in £10 notes.
The process confused the transaction, and the men managed to leave ‘quickly’ with an extra £100, leaving the pub out of pocket.
Police
Chorlton Police urged other pubs in Manchester to be cautious. Offenders were described as Asian and aged in their mid-thirties, one trickster was smartly dressed and the other had a moustache.
Local businesses have been asked to keep an eye out for the offenders and report any similar circumstances to 101 or via Crimestoppers.
Bogus callers
Pubs are often targeted by conmen. Last year in Shropshire a licensee warned of the re-emergence of bogus callers claiming to be selling adverts in police and fire service magazines.
John Ellis from the Crown Inn, Telford was targeted by a caller with a strong Lancashire accent, purporting to be from ‘the crime prevention programme.’
Victims of the hoax pay money into a bank account by credit or debit cards but the magazine is never produced.
Food
And in Cumbria a customer who ate at the Crown and Thistle was charged for placing hair from a child’s head in her food to gain a refund for her meal.
Carlisle Magistrates Court convicted the woman after CCTV footage showed her plucking hair from a young’s child head. It turned out she didn’t have the money to pay for her meal, the Mirror reported.
Cyber-attacks
And pubs can also be at risk of cyber-attacks. In November JD Wetherspoon was targeted by hackers who stole personal details of up to 657,000 customers, including credit and debit card details.
Fortunately the cyber-attack only gained the last four digits of 100 customers' bank cards who had purchased Wetherspoon vouchers online before August 2014.
No passwords were stolen, so there was no financial burden for customers and staff affected, but names, dates of birth, email addresses and mobile phone numbers were risked.
