Business / Baker’s warning after ‘hair’ in food scam attempt
A LOCAL cake and bakes maker is hoping to raise awareness of online scams after being targeted by a rather unusual con.
Sinead Blance, who runs Wild Coast Bakes, said the scam revolved around someone claiming to have found a hair in a custard cream allegedly bought from her stand at an Up Helly Aa food fayre on Sunday.
This person, messaging Blance on WhatsApp, asked for a refund – but upon more investigation it appeared that the person’s mobile number had history of trying to con small businesses across the UK saying they had found hairs in food in an attempt to request refunds.
Other things did not add up either, such as the price of the order and the person claiming they were not at home because they were having keyhole surgery in “Haroldswick Hospital” in Unst.
Although the requested refund in this instance – £14.50 – is not a huge amount compared to some other scams, Blance is keen to encourage other food businesses with an online presence to keep their wits about them.
Blance, who started Wild Coast Cakes in 2024 and has a cake cupboard in Scalloway, had a stall at the Up Helly Aa food fayre at the museum in Lerwick on Sunday – offering items like cakes and other sweet treats.
She publicised this on social media with an image of what was on offer at her table, and some prices too.
Speaking to Shetland News, Blance said she was “absolutely mortified” at first to hear someone had apparently found a hair in their custard cream.
“Having someone find a hair in one of my bakes is my absolute worst nightmare as a food producer and although we have controls in place like ensuring hair is tied back, hairnets used etcetera, things can and do happen unfortunately,” she said.
Blance said some “alarm bells” soon started ringing, such as the customer being unable to say what the cost of their alleged purchase was, while they could not provide any photos.
With the person saying they were not at home because they were in ‘hospital’ in Unst, Blance then searched the phone number on Google – with reports of other scams against food producers involving hair then rearing their head.
“While I absolutely do have a duty of care to my customers and take things like this seriously, they can have a huge effect on my business if false information was to start circulating,” she said.
“When I saw other businesses – albeit not local but mostly in the same food and drinks sector as myself – had already posted about this exact number it all sort of clicked.
“Since making the post I’ve had a couple small businesses owners thank me and share their own stories too.
“I think it’s so important for both small business and individuals to be aware of online scams, they’re only getting more common and the people that run them are getting smarter too.
“I’m really lucky in that if this chap had succeeded, I’d only be about £20 out of pocket but I’ve seen scams happen up into five or six figures and personally that would absolutely destroy both my business and probably my life too.”
Blance encouraged other small businesses to doublecheck that queries and message are genuine, such as by Googling the number and asking for proof like she did.
“This guy did slip up, but many of them seem so genuine and don’t make mistakes with wrong information,” she said.
Blance said she started Wild Coast Cakes in 2024 after baking professionally in a deli in John o’Groats while attending university in Thurso.
“I’ve always loved baking so it seemed like a bit of a natural progression for me to start up my own business,” she said.
“It’s just me behind the scenes – I do everything from marketing and admin to the actual baking and packaging.
“We started with custom cake orders only, then opened The Cake Cubby in Scalloway, and we supply a few local shops such as Sound Service Station and we’ve recently started doing events and markets too which I’ve been absolutely loving.
“There’s such a vibrant community in Shetland between all the producers and small businesses and it’s been great to get out and put some faces to names.”
Next up will be a stall at Da Muckle Market in Islesburgh in Lerwick on Saturday from 3pm to 5pm.
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