A CITY McDonald’s in being plagued by scammers who are using fake McCafé loyalty stickers to bag themselves free coffee.

Customers at the popular fast food franchise on Cardiff Road, Newport, have reported seeing frustrated staff checking every sticker on the McCafé loyalty cards, found on the side of McDonald’s coffee cups.

For every coffee you buy at McDonald’s, you can get a loyalty sticker to add to your card. Buy six coffees and you can look forward to a free cuppa.

But some cheeky punters have stumbled across fake stickers, available to buy on the internet.

Rogerstone Independent councillor Chris Evans, a regular customer at the Cardiff Road branch, saw staff checking individual stickers this week, and asked what was going on.

“They told me they have to check every single one now. People are coming in every morning and ordering up to nine cups of coffee.

“I just couldn’t believe it when I heard.

 

“You can say what you want about McDonald’s, but the company does employ a lot of young people, and it’s their jobs you're messing with.

“They do a lot in the community too, in terms of litter picking and charity work.

“It’s amazing what some people will do to save a pound or two on a cup of coffee.”

A quick search on ebay reveals dozens of listings, all offering rolls of fake stickers on the cheap.

There are subtle differences between a genuine and fake sticker.

The real stickers are far slimmer than the pretend ones, and the writing is also thicker, meaning staff can usually spot a fake.

With staff at Cardiff Road now wise to the scam at least, it could be harder for future coffee rouges to get their free fix.

The problem has also been reported to the national McDonald’s head office.

A spokesman told the South Wales Argus: “We believe that a very small number of people are potentially using counterfeit loyalty stickers to claim a free coffee.

“Anyone attempting to use what our restaurant teams believe to be counterfeit stickers will be declined their free coffee.”