Kilkenny jewellers targeted by scam artists

A number of city jewellers have been targeted by scam artists in recent days and duped out of cash.

Gardaí are investigating the incidents and to date no arrests have been made.

As part of the scam the criminals initially called each of the businesses over the phone seeking to buy a gift voucher using a credit card. Following the call a person would go into the shop to collect the gift card and then would decide to spend the gift card there and then.

The scam became apparent when the card would then be reported as compromised. Two of the busineses owners suffered a financial loss as a result of the scam while the third business became suspicious and foiled the scam.

"Gardaí are advising all businesses to be vigilant and to take all steps to ensure the security protocols surrounding credit and debit cards are not compromised in any way," a garda spokesperson said.