Two men are accused of using fake gift cards to dine and dash at multiple restaurants in Old Colorado City, prompting warnings from business owners and advice from consumer protection experts.The owner of a Alchemy in Old Colora do City said the two men sat down and handed over a gift card to the bartender. After the bartender turned away briefly, the men disappeared, and staff discovered the card had no funds."$150 is a pretty sizable bar tab for us, so that was a nice hit," said Nancy Kleinfeld, owner of Alchemy.Another restaurant who didn't want to be named posted about the incident on Facebook, other restaurants began commenting that they had faced similar situations with what appeared to be the same two men. Alchemy Chef Dominic Hamsa witnessed one of the incidents firsthand at his restaurant. He said one man told his friend at the bar that he had left cigarettes in a truck and they needed to go retrieve them."That's when we were like let's try and get a card, at least so they don't walk. Then they didn't come back and our bartender tried to pre-authorize the card and it, of course, came back bunk," Hamsa said.Hamsa believes the men are the same individuals from the Facebook post."I saw them face to face. I saw the pictures, they're the same people," Hamsa said.However, Colorado Springs Police Department cannot confirm whether the same men are responsible for multiple incidents.These are the photos sent in by owner of O'Leary's, John O'Leary. Three businesses reported similar tactics were used in each case."They've all seen the useless card that they were given so they know to identify that as an issue," Kleinfeld said.The Better Business Bureau of Southern Colorado recommends restaurants take precautions to prevent similar incidents."Let the consumer know we're gonna charge you for your drinks so that we can open a tab and make sure all's good first," said Adah Rodriguez, executive vice president of strategic Programs and operations at the Southern Colorado Better Business Bureau.Rodriguez also suggests asking for identification along with any card or avoiding prepaid cards entirely."I think it's just best practice to educate and come up with a plan as a comfortable are you accepting these cards and taking that risk?" Rodriguez said.The incidents have affected restaurant staff beyond just the financial loss."I think like anybody in this economy, the bartender was afraid of losing his job because of something he felt he should have been able to control that he couldn't," Kleinfeld said.CSPD said an officer is investigating these situations. Police ask any restaurant or bar that was victimized by a dine-and-dash incident around mid-January to report it online or through their non-emergency line._______Watch KOAA News5 on your time, anytime with our free streaming app available for your Roku, FireTV, AppleTV and Android TV. Just search KOAA News5, download and start watching. ...read more read less