Businesses in the BCP area are being warned by police to remain vigilant after a string of cash-swapping confusion scams were reported in Poole.
In the most recent incident, a man visited the McColl’s shop on The Parade in Poole on Saturday 5 September 2020, at around 10.40am, claiming to be an employee from the nearby Sainsbury’s store. After presenting £900 in £10 notes, he asked the worker to swap the money for £20 notes.
The McColl’s assistant placed the money on the counter after carrying out the exchange, at which point the offender said he had asked for the money to be changed into £5 notes, not £10 notes. In the following moments, the offender retained a number of the notes without the worker realising, while they carried out the exchange.
The description given to the police is a white man with an accent that might have been Eastern European. He was wearing a grey cap, black jumper, a Sainsbury’s maroon-coloured body warmer, beige trousers and beige boots.
Similar incidents have previously been reported at the Co-Op on Ringwood Road and the Post Office in Culliford Crescent, all taking place between Monday 31 August and Sunday 6 September 2020.
Police Community Support Investigator Adam Cleaver, of Poole police, said: “I would like to remind local shops not to exchange large quantities of money as you may be at risk of being scammed.
“We have been carrying out an investigation into all four incidents and enquiries are ongoing to identify the people involved.
“If you have been a victim of a similar incident, please let us know. Alternatively, if you have any information to assist our enquiries please get in touch.”
If you have any information that might help the police with their investigation, please contact Dorset Police via their website, by email or by calling 101 and quoting occurrence number 55200042293. To report information anonymously, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or visit their website.