COPS are hunting for a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde who dine out at posh restaurants and then flee without paying.
The couple are thought to have swindled at least a dozen pubs and restaurants over the last 10 months.
The tricksters use the same ruse each time.
They apologise after their card is declined, leave a fake address and phone number and then hop it.
Norfolk and Suffolk Police are investigating five linked cases. The couple have also hit eateries in Essex.
Julie and Stephen Penney, who run the Swann Inn in Monks Eleigh, Suffolk, were hit by the fraudsters on Halloween.
The couple racked up a bill of £56 after washing down dinner with double vodkas.
Julie, 52, said: “They have this down to a fine art.
“They were completely at ease, they didn’t give us any cause for concern.
“They were very confident and smooth.”
Footage of the couple, captured on the Swan’s CCTV system, has since been passed to the police.
Julie added: “They must have been having a free meal every night at that point.
“To add insult to injury they asked if they could take a bottle of wine home.
“We’re all struggling massively at the moment.
“And to have a couple take advantage for their own selfish gains is not on.
“They’re like East Anglia’s Bonnie and Clyde.”
Julie posted about the couple on a pub owners Facebook group and could not believe the response.
More than a dozen landlords and restaurateurs got in touch to say they too had been hit in exactly the same way.
On one occasion the brazen fraudsters managed to dodge paying after staying a week at a hotel.
It is believed the pair have been operating since January.
Suffolk and Norfolk forces are now working together to catch the culprits who have also struck in Ipswich, Layham, Wreningham and Bracon Ash.
A Suffolk Police spokesman said: “This type of behaviour of making off without payment for meals is simply unacceptable.”
They are said to have targeted at least a dozen pubs and diners in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex.
Julie and Stephen Penney, who run the Swan Inn in Monks Eleigh, Suffolk, were hit by the pair who racked up a £56 bill on Halloween.
Julie, 52, said: “They’re like East Anglia’s Bonnie and Clyde.”
Suffolk Police said: “This type of behaviour is simply unacceptable.”