The Comhairle’s Trading Standards Officers are alerting consumers regarding a scam which mainly targets Bed and Breakfast and Self Catering operators.
An operator receives an enquiry for an unusually long booking which may be for several days or weeks. A cheque or bankers draft then arrives for a much larger sum than that actually quoted for.
“This scam has been doing the rounds”
The operator is then contacted and told there has been a mistake with the amount rendered, and is asked to send back a cheque for the difference.
When the operator subsequently tries to cash the original cheque the payment fails, and the operator is left out of pocket.
A spokesperson said “This scam has been doing the rounds for some time, but each year, unfortunately, some people get conned.”
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