Police are urging local shops and supermarkets in the Highlands and Islands to be
on their guard following a recent report of fraud commonly referred to as 'Ringing
the Changes'.
The fraud involves a person asking a member of staff to exchange a
large sum of money for them into notes of smaller denominations. While doing this
they deliberately confuse the staff member to obtain more money than they came in
with.
The most recent incident involved a shop in Inverness being swindled out of
a three figure sum on Thursday.
Sergeant Richard Ross advised: "I would urge all business owners to ensure that their
staff are aware and alert to this type of scam, and in particular to watch out for
anyone asking to exchange large amounts of money.
“These people are using sleight of hand to leave the store with more money than they
came in with, and it's possible they could target during a particularly busy time
which provides an ideal opportunity for the criminal to confuse or distract you."
"If
you are in any doubt consider asking another colleague for assistance or politely
decline the request and notify the police. Many retailers now display signs informing
customers that they will not exchange large amounts to discourage such behaviour."
"Anyone
who has information that could assist with this particular inquiry is encouraged
to contact Police on 101, or any anonymous information can also be passed to the
charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555111."
'Ringing the changes' fraud warning
28 November 2016