A retailers group has warned business owners in Courier country to be on their guard against highly organised Eastern European scam gangs.
The national operations director of Retailers Against Crime (RAC), Maxine Fraser, said the groups have increasingly been striking across Tayside, Fife and Forth Valley.
The claim has been backed up by Police Scotland, who recently warned of a rise in foreign nationals pulling sophisticated theft and fraud operations, including one known as “Ringing the Changes”.
The sleight-of-hand routine involves distracting or confusing a shopkeeper as change is counted out from the till, with the intention of duping them into handing over excess cash.
It commonly sees someone asking for a sum of cash to be changed into notes of a smaller denomination.
While waiting for the change, they deliberately confuse staff into giving them more money than they originally handed over.
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Mrs Fraser said: “You can’t tar everybody with the same brush and the majority of people who come over here from Europe come here to work.
“But there has been a noticeable rise in a scam called ‘Ringing the Changes’ that is carried out by these gangs.
“They work in groups and we will see them all over our area and then in other areas like Greater Manchester.
“Then they will disappear and others will come up. It is all very organised and after maybe a year we will see the first group back again it’s very hard to keep track of them.”
RAC warn that scams such as ‘Ringing the Changes’ are now “extremely common” throughout the UK.
In addition to demanding refunds or stealing items from mainstream stores the gangs often target jewellers.
By switching cheap costume jewellery for more expensive genuine pieces, the thefts they commit are often hard to detect.
In the summer, two pubs in St Andrews were targeted by a group scammers. Then in October, two men, including one wearing a black witch’s hat, tried to pull off the scam in Monifieth.
That followed similar efforts in Cupar, Broughty Ferry and Dundee.
A Police Scotland spokesman warned business owners to be vigilant, especially those who own busy companies.
“We appeal to all retailers and their staff, as well as employees at post office, petrol stations and banks would urge all retailers to be on their guard.”