Ty-scam-osaurus hits Tamba with cut-out paper cash

Wednesday 28 March 2018

As frauds go, it's pretty basic. With bank notes steadily getting more security measures to prevent fakes, one fraudster went 'low-tech' and simply printed their own on normal paper, one of which found its way into the tills of a Jersey business.

The false currency, which was made from a paper cut-out, was recently discovered at Tamba Park.

Tamba owner Jonathan Ruff told Express: “It’s the worst fake you’ve ever seen. It even has the black line around the edge where it’s been cut.

“It’s not very fair on businesses. It’s basically stealing, it’s no different to going into a shop and stealing £20 worth of goods.”

Although dismayed that one of his staff had accepted the fake note as payment, he reasoned that it may have slipped through as many different currencies are used in the island. He said that it is a mistake that will be learnt from.

Instead of alerting Police, Mr Ruff decided to use social media to prevent other businesses from also falling victim to the fake money which he says “has done the job” due to the volume of shares the Facebook post had within the first 24 hours.

As money raised through the Tamba attraction goes towards a charity set up by the Ruff family, which feeds around 10,000 vulnerable children every day in Zimbabwe, Mr Ruff ended the warning post, saying: “The starving children in Zimbabwe say Thank you."

It's the second time that the cut-out cash scam has come to the public's attention in recent months. Back in January, the Police warned islanders of a fake note used in a St. Helier shop.

They asked islanders to look out for the unsophisticated counterfeit notes, which were described as being printed on "poor quality paper" without any sign of the trademark Jersey cow watermark.

While Mr Ruff and the Police are still yet to get to the bottom of the fake notes, which may have affected other businesses, there has been one good result: the influx of kind comments and gestures towards Tamba, including a donation of £50 from a former Treasurer of the States of Jersey to make up for the loss to the charity.