Scammers posing as customer support for prepaid cards are draining victims’ accounts as they leave the customers on hold.
The FBI is warning consumers about fake websites pretending to offer customer service for Moneypak, a reloadable, prepaid debit card from company Green Dot.
When customers look up help for MoneyPak online, they are coming across the fraudulent sites and calling those involved in the scam.
In some cases, the FBI says victims looking for a refund will give a “representative” their prepaid card number, as well as a credit card or checking account number where they want the refund to be sent.
Instead, the scammer will use that information to get money from the prepaid card and the victims’ personal accounts.
Another incarnation of the scheme involves people seeking support because they lost money from another scam.
For example, if a victim calls to get $500 they lost refunded to their card, the representative will ask them to load another $500 to it first, claiming that “reloading is the only way to process the refund.”
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The representative tells the victim the account will be refunded the entire $1,000, but then will take the additional money put on the card.
In most cases, phony customer support puts the victims on hold long enough to steal all the money in their accounts or will immediately drain the card after the caller hangs up.
For protection, those who use MoneyPak cards should only use the website and phone number listed on the back, the FBI says.
You should also never give your MoneyPak number to someone you don’t know, and use it only to reload your prepaid cards or accounts you control.
If you believe you are the victim of this scam, file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center’s website, including detailed descriptions of the encounter.
