Better Business Bureau, Department of Public Safety warn of MoneyPak scams
Better Business Bureau, Ministry of Public Security warned of scams MoneyPakSt. Paul, MN - The Better Business Bureau of Minnesota and North Dakota (BBB) and the Minnesota Department of (DPS) of the Public Safety Division of Alcohol and the game application (AGED ) is warning consumers that online thieves have found a new way of siphoning cash from them: MoneyPaks Green Dot. MoneyPaks, which are sold in stores across the U.S., debit cards are rechargeable normally used to make payments on the same day or to add money to prepaid cards or PayPal accounts.
In recent weeks, both the BBB and the DPS noted a significant increase in schemes where the crooks be tempted to ask - or have been able to collect - payment by MoneyPak for goods, loans or advance fee prices that all sweepstakes has been fraudulent or nonexistent.
"Our two agencies have found that fraudsters are increasingly moving away from the search for payments by bank transfer and ask consumers instead of giving them money via MoneyPaks," said Dana Badgerow, President and CEO of the BBB."We think this is probably because this form of payment is very convenient - both for consumers and crooks - and found.
DPS said the BBB and any web site requesting a payment via a MoneyPak is probably a scam. They also say that people should be very careful when using MoneyPaks to pay companies or individuals they do not know, and want people to understand that once they load a MoneyPak with funds, they all share the number with the card will also have access to these funds.
Bill White, an agent with AGED says fraudsters convince consumers to invest in their MoneyPak map, get them to share the serial number, then empty the crooks on the map of the funds, leaving consumers with nothing.
"These fraudsters are smart and are extremely effective in gaining the trust of their victims and convince them they have won a prize," said White. "The basic rule to avoid being scammed is to understand that legitimate lotteries do not require you to pay a fee to gain. In this case, never give a serial number MoneyPak to someone you do not know.