Warning to Dewsbury shoppers over fake cash con

The fraudsters ask shoppers if they can give them change for a £10 or £20 note.

But the notes being changed are fakes, which shoppers can not spend.

Now police are warning local people not to exchange money with strangers in the street.

The con came to light after some of the shoppers caught out spoke to Coun Paul Kane (Lab, Dews East).

“People have to be extremely wary,” he said.

“I know they want to be helpful, but at least three people have told me about this scam.

“They’re making money off the vulnerable, but if enough people are made aware we can stop it outright.”

Police yesterday said no individual cases had been reported, but officers were now on the lookout for the fraudsters.

Coun Kane said: “People are obviously a little bit embarrassed, but they’re very good counterfeits.

“We all expect things to be genuine and when you’re trying to be helpful you don’t want to be ripped off.”

Police are keen to speak to any victims of the scam to make sure the culprits are caught.

A spokesman said: “We will be looking into this matter further and information from the public could be vital in us making tracing any possible suspects.”

In the meantime, officers are asking shoppers visiting the town to be on their guard.

“We would advise people not to exchange money with strangers in the street because if the notes that people are given prove to be counterfeit, victims will be left out of pocket,” the spokesman said.

“It can be very difficult to spot a counterfeit note, so the best advice we could offer is for people to always politely refuse to change money with a stranger. “

Phone the town centre policing team on 101.

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