Tradie Eftpos scam costs Gold Coast venues thousands of dollars
Thieves have allegedly been scamming a number of venues in Southport out of thousands of dollars over the weekend.
The alleged scam involves a customer changing the amount on an Eftpos machine and using a stolen credit card during payment. The accused scammers then tell staff they mistakenly billed the wrong price and requested a refund, either in cash or on to a different card.
Speaking to The Gold Coast Bulletin, Caffe Republic manager Peter Dufty said his staff had refunded the money on to another card produced by two men after the $25 they owed had been raised to $2500.
“I wasn’t there, but I was contacted by my staff about two men looking for a refund and they were causing a scene,” he said.
“The staff thought they had put extra zeros on to the price by mistake.
“Some alarm bells did go off, but it was a busy Saturday morning and we always try to do what is best for the customer.
“According to the bank the money was withdrawn straight away so we couldn’t get any back, and the original card was stolen so the money has been returned leaving us $5000 out of pocket.”
Another Southport venue, Crazy Fish Sushi, was also allegedly targeted, with the alleged thieves requesting the refund in cash.
“They had upped a $19 meal to $190, then they wanted the refund,” manager Cathy Burraston said.
“So our staff member returned the money in cash and apologised.”
The pair returned later and allegedly tried to exchange fake $50 notes, accusing the sushi shop of producing counterfeit cash.
Police described it as a very unusual scam and were investigating.
Sheridan Randall, 23rd November 2018
