Fraudster exploited glitch at WH Smith

A conman cashed in on a computer glitch to rake in thousands of pounds from Experience Days sold at WHSmith, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard.

Alex Cooper, who was today starting an eight-month jail sentence, cottoned on to the flaw that let him to swap cheap deals for far more expensive ones.

The 26-year-old, of Netherton, then sold them cut-price on ebay and pocketed the extra cash.

Prosecutor Mrs Sati Ruck said Cooper ran the racket for two years until being rumbled in June last year.

By then he had been involved in 77 fraudulent transactions worth £19,200. No specific figure was given for the amount he made.

Cooper, from Stadium End Drive, then got 25-year-old friend Clive Cheshire to join in the racket by providing extra names of relatives and new PayPal accounts in a bid to cover up the crime.

Unemployed Cooper bought a cheap "experience" from WHSmith before logging on to his computer and illegally swapping them for a voucher for breaks worth more than £200.

Cooper and Cheshire, of Fairway Avenue, Dudley, admitted conspiracy to commit fraud. Cheshire received a community order with 200 hours of unpaid work, a three-month night-time tagged curfew and was ordered to pay £600 costs.