Police have issued a warning to hospitality workers after a Glasgow bar was targeted by scammers.
Officers say there have been incidents of fraudsters entering bars and restaurants and swapping over the card payment machines for a different one, which has been tampered with to transfer any money paid to the perpetrators' accounts.
Earlier this month a Merchant City bar shared detail of a similar incident which allegedly saw two men enter the premises and distract staff before making the swap. Thankfully in this instance no money was lost with the matter reported to police.
Sounding the warning on Facebook, Lanarkshire Police Division referred to a number of attempts to hijack the card system in Edinburgh as they warn owners and staff around the country to stay extra vigilant.
They advise: "Criminals are reported to have entered retail and hospitality establishments and swapped the card machine belonging to the business for their own one. This results in payments for subsequent sales being fraudulently paid into the scammer’s bank account.
"Business owners, please be vigilant about who is within your store and where they are.
"Be aware that criminals may attempt to use distraction techniques to commit this type of offence.
"Report anything suspicious to 101 or 999 in an emergency."
