"Why did it not get picked up? I feel like Barclays have let me down."
After a man conned an ice cream parlour out of £1,300, the owner has spoken about his concern regarding the scam.
The customer had purchased £15.60 worth of ice cream from the Yumi Ice Cream Parlour in Nottingham. He told owner Mohammed Abbas that he would pay by card.
Once he was handed the card machine to enter his pin, the man was able to cancel the transaction and made three refund transactions worth around £2,800 and £1,300 was successfully taken.
The man distracted Mr Abbas and after some deliberation decided to put some items back and pay for the rest by cash.
Mr Abbas, who has run the business for nearly 10 years, said he is concerned he won’t get the money back.
When the owner was cashing up, he came across the fraud and contacted Barclays, the bank who provided him with the card machine.
He was told the money had been transferred to Kenya and said that the bank is not doing enough to help him get his money back.
Mr Abbas said: “I told them ‘I don’t sell furniture or high-end items.’ The ice creams start from £1.95. Why did it not get picked up? I feel like Barclays have let me down.
“This has affected my family and my mental health and I am still paying for this now. We work really hard sometimes seven days a week. It is not fair what has happened.
“The money has gone to a Kenyan bank and they are trying to get it back.
“There should have been something in place that stopped it being transferred. Their excuse is ‘we are responsible’ but we are a victim of crime.”
Barclays later decided to refund Mr Abbas half of the lost money as “a goodwill gesture.”
Mr Abbas added: “We are an independent business. We can’t afford to lose money like this. Why and how did this happen?
“It is shameful and I am scared for other businesses. I don’t want them to have to go through the same.”
A spokesman for the bank said: “We were sorry to learn about the theft that took place at Yumi Ice Cream Parlour.
“We take great care to educate our clients about the importance of making sure that they always know where their card machine is, and what it’s being used for, to prevent fraudulent abuse.
“We encourage all clients to visit our website or contact us directly for more information about how to keep themselves and their business safe from fraudsters.
“As a gesture of goodwill, we have refunded Mr Abbas 50 per cent of the monies that were taken.”
Mr Abbas reported the crime to Nottingham Police. The Nottingham Post reported that he is waiting for officers to visit his shop and review the CCTV footage of the incident.
A spokesman for Nottinghamshire Police said:
“We’re investigating a report of a fraud committed at an ice cream parlour in Radford Road, Nottingham.
“It happened at about 5:30 pm on April 25. The offender used a card machine to make a payment which was rejected but they managed to transfer funds from the victim’s account into their own account before leaving the shop.
“Our enquiries are ongoing, including checking any CCTV, and we’re appealing for anyone with any information to call us on 101, quoting incident number 233 of 25 April 2019, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”
The head of fraud prevention at UK Finance, Tony Blake has advised small businesses.
He said: “Don’t allow yourselves to be distracted while a payment is taking place.
“Always remain vigilant. Fraudsters operate everywhere. Report any suspicious behaviour immediately to your bank and retain CCTV as potential evidence.
“Ensure you have robust policies in place which limit who can carry out refunds.
“Always work with your card acquirer to ensure your policies can prevent fraudsters posing as genuine customers who are trying to manipulate the system.”
Loading ...