A pair of fraudsters conned Perth hotels in a cunning chip and PIN refund scam.
Ahmed Bounoun and Salam Bonoua targeted the Station Hotel and New County Hotel.
On the same day in April 2019, the pair pretended to receptionists they wanted to book a room.
However, when they pretended to pay by card, the swindlers “tampered” with the transaction and actually “refunded” themselves thousands of pounds.
They made off with £17,000 through the fraudulent scheme, admitted at Dundee Sheriff Court.
The Station Hotel has since been taken over by global giants Radisson Blu and is being used to house asylum seekers.
The New County Hotel has been closed since a tragic fatal fire last year.
Next month, the scammers, both from London, will be sentenced for defrauding the city centre businesses.
Inn the money
Fiscal Depute Lora Apostolova told the court, at the Station Hotel a room was booked for £59.95 and the card terminal was handed over to complete the purchase.
She said: “It was at that point in time that the device they were using was effectively accessed.”
The con artists subtly switched the transaction from a sale to a refund.
Ms Apostolova added: “The refund was to the value of £13,000.
“That was discovered later on.
“They changed the way that the actual terminal works – that’s how they tampered with the terminal.
“They said they would go for food and then collect their keys and never returned.”
County con
Swindlers Bonoun and Bonoua then entered The New County Hotel a short walk away and completed the same scam, “refunding” themselves £4,000.
Ms Apostolova continued: “The realisation came to the attention of the hotel managers towards the end of May.
“There is CCTV from The Station Hotel that assisted with identifying the accused.
“There was no suggestion that anyone from the hotels were part of the fraudulent scheme.”
Pleas
Both men pled guilty to forming a fraudulent scheme to obtain a total of £17,000 from the hotels on April 10 2019.
They admitted they acted with another person while carrying out their scam.
The pair previously faced a string of other charges but had not guilty pleas accepted.
They were cleared of attempting to fraudulently obtain £3,000 from Domino’s on Wellington Road, Aberdeen, two days before the hotel scam.
Further, they had been accused of trying to take £8,000 in refunds from the Rox Hotel on the city’s Market Street and attempting to obtain £6,000 the same way at the House Spa on Great Western Road.
On the same day as their hotel scam, the men had allegedly attempted to fraudulently obtain £1,500 from Walker the Jeweller on Union Street in Dundee.
Another charge alleged they tried to obtain £599 that day from Ramsdens on High Street, Dundee.
They had also allegedly used another man’s card to pay for a £138 room at the Queen’s Hotel in Perth on the same street.
The men were acquitted of all these charges.
Menu button manipulation
Dundee Sheriff Court heard 25-year-old Bonoua, of Harrow in North London, has no previous convictions.
Bonoun, 30, of Welsh Harp, also in North London, does have a criminal record and has been jailed before.
His solicitor John Boyle said: “A significant passage of time has passed.
“He has recently undertaken qualifications, there’s been a significant change in his circumstances since.
“My understanding of the way the fraud takes place is when they are booking the room, they are provided the (terminal).
“The card is put in. The terminal is then provided to them.
“After that stage, there’s a menu button on the screen which they press.
“They then change the transaction from a sale to a refund, and change the amount of that.”
Sheriff John Rafferty said: “It seems very strange to imagine.”
He continued the fraudsters’ bail and deferred sentencing to April 25 for reports.
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