Fraudsters target Highland shops and garages

SHOP and garage staff in the Highlands are being warned to be their guard against a scam to defraud their paypoint facilities.

Northern Constabulary issued the alert after a number of incidents of fraud involving UKASH paypoint facilities at the weekend across the Inverness, Ross-shire and Western Isles areas.

The scam, which is not linked to the legitimate company UKASH, involves criminals contacting a paypoint vendor over the telephone with the knowledge of the paypoint unit serial numbers, purporting to be an engineer requiring to change screen options on the UKASH facility.

A series of alleged system codes will be passed by the fraudster to the vendor. These codes are in fact monetary values. The fraudster may say they are providing an upgrade to their systems. A voucher will then be produced by the facility. If passed on, the voucher code will allow the fraudster successful access to the funds.

Detective Inspector Andy Logan said: "The value of these frauds can range from the low hundreds to several thousand pounds.

"Their have been a number of incidents of frauds across the Highlands and Islands. We would remind vendors not to give out financial or voucher details over the phone and to ensure that they verify the details of any persons from any companies that contact them. All of these incidents are being investigated with a view to identifying the people behind the frauds."

Those hit by the scam are asked to contact their local police station or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.