This is the moment three men robbed a small business using a card machine scam, netting them thousands of dollars.
The trio, from Brent, London, can be seen on CCTV released by Avon and Somerset Police telling shop workers in Bristol that they need to enter their PIN to pay for goods.
However, instead of entering a PIN, one of the gang members uses a card to authorise refunds to several different bank accounts, while the others distract the person at the till to buy time.
The three men were caught after police stopped a car with false number plates on the M4 and found a large quantity of debit cards and expensive clothing.
One of the fraudsters, Omar Said-Baker, 30, is on the run after failing to attend a sentencing hearing at Bristol Crown Court, where Abdullah Said-Ahmed, 29, and Tahir Mohammed, 30, were given suspended sentences for the scheme.
This is the moment three men managed to rob a small business using a card machine scam, allowing them to make thousands of dollars. One of them can be seen manipulating the machine so that it refunds the money on the card instead of cashing it out, while his accomplices distract a cafe employee.
One of the fraudsters, Omar Said-Baker, 30, is wanted for failing to attend a sentencing hearing at Bristol Crown Court, where Abdullah Said-Ahmed, 29, and Tahir Mohammed, 30, were given suspended sentences for the scheme. They all appear in CCTV footage from Edna’s Kitchen in Bristol.
In one clip, one of the gang appears to ask a member of staff at the Revival Cafe in Bristol to bring him a stirrer for his coffee before asking him another question as his accomplice works the machine to steal thousands of pounds.
The other video released by police was recorded by a camera located at the back of Edna’s Kitchen, also in Bristol, and shows the store employee going back and forth to the fridge while the fraud is being committed.
The three men were caught after police stopped a car with false number plates on the M4, which runs between their homes in London and Bristol, where they had been targeting shops.
After searching the vehicle, officers found a large amount of expensive clothing and several credit and debit cards, four of which were in Said-Baker’s name.
Further investigation linked all three men to the refund scam and CCTV footage was recovered showing at least one of the men distracting the store employee while the refunds were being made.
Between February and March 2019, several small independent businesses were attacked in and around Cabot Circus.
Said-Ahmed and Mohammed pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit fraud last month.
Said-Ahmed was sentenced to 14 months in prison, suspended for 18 months, and must carry out 150 hours of unpaid work, while Mohammed was jailed for 23 months, suspended for 18 months, and must carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.
Pictured: Said-Baker and Said-Ahmed distract an employee at the Revival Cafe in Bristol as they steal thousands of pounds
However, a warrant was issued for Said-Baker’s arrest after he failed to appear at a hearing at Bristol Crown Court.
Detective Sergeant Louise Sinclair, from Avon and Somerset Police’s Complex Fraud Team, said: ‘These three men brazenly stole thousands of pounds from small shops and cafes.
‘On one occasion, I had over £5,000 returned to me from an independent cafe.
‘I hope this investigation will reassure small business owners that no matter how complex an investigation may be, we will do everything we can to ensure that those who harm people’s livelihoods are held to account.
‘I also hope this case reminds store workers of the need to be vigilant, not to allow customers to tamper with PDQ machines, and the importance of reporting suspicious or criminal behavior to us.’
This comes after CCTV in shops across the country exposed a ‘gold swap scammer’ who was scamming jewellers by swapping real and fake gold out of sight while they paid him.
Footage emerging from shops in Hailsham, East Sussex, and 230 miles away in Stoke-on-Trent show a man appraising real gold but swapping it for counterfeits before fleeing with cash and valuables.
This comes after CCTV in shops across the country exposed a ‘gold swap scammer’ (spotted) for ripping off jewellers by swapping real and fake gold out of sight while they paid him.
Jewellers Ashley Adams in Hailsham lost £1,100 and only got “two pieces of brass” as a result of a shop employee thinking they were getting their hands on pharaoh head pendants.
Hundreds of miles north, months later, the man was joined by a female accomplice when he arrived at Church Street Gold Pottery and Furniture wanting to sell 9-carat gold, which a businessman examined and confirmed was genuine.
After managing to exchange the bags, the couple fled the scene with the money from the pawn shop.
Both Sussex and Staffordshire Police said they were investigating and encouraged witnesses to call police on 101, quoting incident number 396 of June 20, or call Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.
