Gardaí warn businesses of scammers after Ballybofey ‘change scam’ incident

Gardaí have warned businesses to be careful of scammers after a Ballybofey business fell victim to a ‘change scam.’

In the Ballybofey incident, a few large banknotes were handed over, and a request was made for smaller notes to be given in return. Once this was done, a few of the smaller notes were then handed over, and a further request was made to break those notes into smaller denominations. 

The end result was that confusion was caused by all of the quick transaction requests, and the float was down. 

A statement from Gardaí warned: “Change scams are carried out in a very professional way and the cashier will often not even realise that they have been scammed until the float is counted later in the evening. 

“These scammers may often target young and more inexperienced employees who may not be as aggressive in managing the confusion of multiple transactions and who are more wary of slowing down a line of customers. 

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“Employers should advise their staff not to carry out such transactions. Our advice is to place a sign in a prominent position at the cash register stating that the cashier will not change denominations of notes for anyone. 

“If the customer begins to bully or intimidate the cashier and the confusion escalates, the cashier should stop the transaction completely, ensure that the till is closed, and call for the manager.”