More 'cash by confusion' scams hitting Martin County cashiers

MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. - Thefts of cash by confusion continue.

A bank and a grocery store are the latest reported victims of con artists posing as customers who ask for complicated money exchanges of which the clerks lose track — costing stores hundreds of dollars, law enforcement reports show.

Around noon Monday, Wachovia Bank on Southeast Federal Highway lost $2,500 to an unidentified customer who walked away after asking to exchange $2,500 in $50 bills for $100 bills.

The bank’s 25-year-old teller placed both stacks of bills — the $50s and the $100s — on a counter. Then the customer, who had a foreign accent, asked to convert his money into Euros. When the clerk walked away to ask about making the conversion, the customer walked out with all the money, according to a sheriff’s report.

Investigators are getting bank surveillance videos to help identify the enriched customer.

Such quick change scams aren’t new, says Martin County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Rhonda Irons. And they keep happening the same old way: “Con artists seek to confuse or disorient the cashier when paying for purchases with a large denomination bill,” she said.

On Aug. 10 in Stuart a 48-year-old Miramar man almost got away after confusing a Walmart clerk into giving back too much change for a $100 bill.

Victor Fuller, of Miramar, was stopped in the store’s parking lot after store officials alerted law enforcement of a suspicious transaction. He is charged with organized scheme to defraud.

Police officials say he is suspected in similar schemes involving large retailers in 12 different law enforcement jurisdictions from South Florida to Orlando.

Following recent publicity about the schemes, officials of a Publix grocery store on Southeast Federal Highway in Martin County told sheriff’s investigators of being scammed on June 2. A clerk accidentally gave an extra $100 to a customer who started out saying he was paying for a pack of mints costing $1.01 for which his son didn’t pay.

The man paid with a $100 bill and one penny and the clerk gave the change. But then the customer said he had a $1 bill to pay with and wanted his $100 back. He asked that the change be two $50 bills he saw in the open cash register drawer.

The clerk, according to a sheriff’s report, felt that something wasn’t right but still gave him another $100 in change.

Now Publix wants to press charges. Investigators are looking at store surveillance videos to try to identify the person.

AVOIDING QUICK-CHANGE SCAMS:

Be cautious of people who pay for small purchases with a large denomination bill.

Stay focused when giving change. Count slowly and aloud if needed.

Most quick-change scams are done by two people. One distracts a cashier or other customers by asking questions while the partner confuses the cashier.

Source: Martin County Sheriff’s Office