What is a Green Dot MoneyPak® card?
Green Dot MoneyPak® cards are pre-paid cards available at convenience stores and pharmacies. Consumers add money to the cards and use them to pay bills and add money to online accounts. Green Dot also produces pre-paid debit cards.
What are the scammers doing?
Scam artists are using both types of cards to get cash from victims. To perpetrate the fraud, scammers call victims and tell them they are calling from Time Warner Cable. They offer them a discount or special upgrade of service if they agree to pay in advance. They tell victims to buy a Green Dot MoneyPak® card and to place money on the card. Victims then provide the MoneyPak® PIN, allowing the scammers to transfer the money immediately from the Green Dot card to another account. Once transferred, the victim’s money is lost.
This scam is spreading across the country, and many companies have been affected by it.
What should I do?
If you feel you were a victim of fraud, contact your local police agency and file a report.
Green Dot MoneyPak® cards and similar cash-load cards have been the focus of scammers around the country to defraud unsuspecting people. Avoid reacting to requests requiring you to purchase MoneyPak® cards, but if you do purchase one for any reason treat it like cash because unlike credit cards, MoneyPak® transactions can never be reversed.
If someone calls you and demands payment via a MoneyPak® card or other cash-loaded card, you should disconnect without providing any information or taking any instructions from the caller. Time Warner Cable will NEVER make an offer for service, discounts or other special offerings contingent upon payment through a MoneyPak® or other cash-loaded card.
Tips
MoneyPak® offers on its website these tips on how to protect yourself from fraud:
- Never give your MoneyPak® number to someone you don’t know.
- Never give receipt information about your MoneyPak® purchase to another party.
- Use your MoneyPak® only to reload your prepaid cards or accounts you control.
- Refuse any offer that asks you to buy a MoneyPak® and share the number or receipt information by email or phone.
- To use your MoneyPak® with PayPal or eBay or other online merchants, transfer the money to your PayPal account before you pay the merchant. Don’t email your MoneyPak® number directly to any merchant.
- Don’t use the MoneyPak® to pay taxes or fees to claim “winnings” on a foreign lottery or prize promotion. Unless it’s an approved MoneyPak® partner, don’t use MoneyPak® for any offer that requires you to pay before you get the item.
