Police: Beware of Green Dot scam

St Augustine Police Sergeant Brian Frasca warns Historic City News readers about two different cases of attempted fraud; the common element being instructions to the intended victim to purchase a Green Dot MoneyPak card.

In both cases, Frasca reported that the victim was contacted by phone.

“They were instructed to go a local store and purchase a “Green Dot” card and put money on that card,” Frasca told Historic City News reporters. “They were then told to call back to a number and give the caller the pin number of the card.”

Green Dot MoneyPak cards are reloadable debit cards, available in 50,000 locations, and you can use them to pay your phone, cable, or credit card bill. They’re typically purchased by people who don’t have, or want, a bank account.

“The cards are not linked to bank accounts – the money is on the card,” a spokesman for Green Dot told reporters. “Anyone you share your card number with, has instant access to your cash and can siphon the card dry.”

Scammers like them because they’re more convenient than a money wire, but just as untraceable.

In both cases in St Augustine, the criminal claimed the victim either owed money or had won money, and each victim believed the story; but later became suspicious and stopped all contact with the caller. In one local case, the victim was elderly; the other had poor English skills.