POLICE have warned Christmas shoppers to avoid ten "aggressive beggars" who are operating in the city centre.
Officers say one of the beggars has boasted of making up to £700 a week – and eight of them are not homeless.
Some of the beggars are illegally posing as Big Issue sellers.
Officers also say a second man who has been targeting the city centre earns enough cash each day to throw away food handed to him and catch a cab out of town to sleep in a hotel.
When he was arrested he was said to have had five pasties on him and £52 in cash.
Police issued the warning after frequently having to deal with what they describe as a "hard core of ten aggressive beggars."
Officers have been regularly speaking to them and moving them on – although some have been arrested for begging and even fraud.
Police Sergeant Huw Jones said: "One of the men boasts frequently about how much money he makes on a daily basis.
"This usually adds up to a total of between £600 to £700 per week.
"We believe this man is not an official Big Issue magazine vendor but he 'sells' the magazine in the city centre and then begs off the back of the sale."
He said the other man was often seen wandering the streets carrying a sleeping bag – something he does only for effect.
Sgt Jones added: "His appearance is unkempt and dishevelled but this is an image that he portrays to gain public sympathy.
"This man is often approached by the unsuspecting public who give him money or they buy him food, which he does not eat.
"He has been seen throwing the food away and discarding any drinks bought for him.
"When he was arrested last week he had five pasties in his possession. He also had £52 cash."
The Big Issue magazine is sold by the homeless so they can build an income of their own.
Its vendors typically wear tabards and badges and abide by a strict code – although when starting out some people may not have a tabard as they have to earn enough to buy one first.
Holly O'Connor, Notts manager for the magazine, said: "Recently we have seen more and more rogue sellers in the city centre.
"They normally attempt to sell a rolled-up old copy of the magazine.
"Once someone has paid they might say, 'Oh, this is my last one, can I keep it?' – genuine vendors don't do this." False sellers can hit the incomes of genuine vendors, she added.
Chief Inspector Shaun Ostle, of Notts Police, added that in recent weeks three people have been charged with fraud for false representation offences in connection with the alleged false selling of Big Issue.
Jason Marriott, manager of Framework's street outreach team, which works directly with rough sleepers, said: "Not everyone who begs sleeps rough and not everybody who sleeps rough begs – in fact the majority do not.
"People who beg, even if they are not sleeping rough, do so mainly as a result of significant personal and social issues."
He added that he would encourage people not to give to beggars as there is no way of knowing how their money would end up being spent.
Instead he asked people to call the Framework rough sleepers hotline free on 0800 066 5356 and tell them where a beggar is.
"In doing so they may tell us of someone who is not actually sleeping rough, but equally they may help us to save the life of somebody who is," he said.
