Southport’s Caffe Republic was scammed thousands after a tradesman and his accomplice pulled a stunt using the venue’s EFTPOS machine.
It’s alleged a man used a stolen card to pay for his $25 transaction but changed the total to $2,250 when he was handed the machine to pay.
According to cafe owner Peter Dufty, the man acted surprised and demanded a refund when the cashier informed him he had been overcharged.
The cashier proceeded to issue a refund, however the man insisted on holding the machine, enabling him to switch cards undetected.
“The staff refunded the amount to what turned out to be a different card and then he went and withdrew cash from the ATM,” Dufty told The Daily Mail.
Dufty was unaware he’d been left out of pocket until his wife received a call from the bank informing her of the scam.
Caffe Republic has shared the ordeal on Facebook, encouraging people to come forward with any information that can assist police, who are currently investigating the matter.
The cafe has yet to be reimbursed.