A couple who run a café in Belfast's Cathedral Quarter say they want to make the public aware of a potential Christmas scam.
Richard and Bailey Evans run The Pocket and told Belfast Live they believed someone may have been trying to run a scam by posing as a charitable worker and asking for monetary donations.
A man came into their café on Wednesday and asked for a donation as well as asking to speak to their customers.
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Bailey was working at the time and said it was only afterwards that she began to suspect something might have been amiss.
"I'm still not 100% sure what the situation was but someone came in had a Christmas outfit on and a high-vis jacket on and a little lanyard with credentials," she said.
"They had a collection bucket and a little card machine and said they were collecting for the homeless and refugees.
"They asked would they be able to go round the shop and I was absolutely slammed, so said I would come back to them.
"I got talking to him briefly and ended up giving him some money but we couldn't have them going round our customers, so I said here was our contribution and he moved on.
"It was only later that I thought that I didn't get a chance to look properly into the details of it - it's very possible that it wasn't legitimate."
Bailey added that she didn't get a chance to look properly at the man's bucket or lanyard to see which organisation he was claiming to represent.
"It wouldn't be normal for someone to come into a business to do that," she said.
"Normally they would just be stationed outside somewhere as I know there's permits and things that are usually needed.
"It could have been legitimate but it also could have been a very convincing scam."
Her husband Richard said the couple were worried that it might be a way of someone trying to take advantage of people's goodwill at Christmas and might mean those in need missing out on donations as a result.
"I think more than anything that it's just a courtesy to bring it to everybody's attention, that there may be opportunistic crime going on," he said.
"You obviously just don't want anyone who's already struggling and then feels guilty and tries to help and it doesn't go to the right place, more than anything, it's just concern.
"If anybody's going to make donations I would say do it through the ordinary channels."
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