Churro shop employee arrested for tampering with cash machine and stealing 86,000 euros

The huge discrepancy between the automatic cash register receipts and the amount deposited in the cash drawer alerted the owners of the Marbella establishment

Málaga

Monday, 24 February 2025, 14:42

National Police have arrested a churro café employee in Marbella who continuously "cheated" a cash register, which allowed him to steal up to 86,000 euros in the span of at least one year.

The owners became suspicious when they noticed a huge discrepancy between the receipts from the automatic cash machine and the amount that was deposited in the cash drawer. They contacted the manufacturers of the machine, who denied the possibility of a machine error or a failure to count the money. Instead, they suspected fraudulent tampering with the machine.

With the help of surveillance footage, it was confirmed that the suspect was inserting banknotes for payment, tampering with the machine to cause the immediate return of the same notes, and yet still obtaining the change from the transaction - the amount for the goods he intended to charge. The machine had no way of detecting that the initial banknote had been returned.

By carrying out these actions, the employee stole some 86,000 euros from the business. It was also discovered that he would go to the shop outside his working hours and make himself a drink. On these occasions, he would insert a 200-euro note and then get it back, using his own technique and managing to cheat the machine.

The investigation led by the theft group of the Local Police in Marbella has proceeded to search the employee's home and block his bank accounts.

Top 50

Esta funcionalidad es exclusiva para registrados.

Reporta un error en esta noticia