Assemblyman
Jeffrey Dinowitz
Reports to the People of the 81st Assembly District

Green Dot MoneyPak Cards

Prepaid debit cards offer a convenient alternative for those wishing to minimize their interactions with credit card companies and banking institutions. In recent years, prepaid debit cards have become an increasingly common payment method among consumers. “Green Dot” cards are a particularly popular type of prepaid debit card.

The growing popularity of Green Dot debit cards, however, has led to an increase in Green Dot related scams. Specifically, con artists trick victims into sending the PIN numbers located on the back of Green Dot “MoneyPak” cards. This is the equivalent of wiring money or sending cash – it is untraceable, and you can’t get your money back!

The information below describes some common ways criminals trick victims and provides simple rules to follow to help you keep your hard-earned money in your own pocket – where it belongs.

Common Scams

Scams involving Green Dot MoneyPak cards will continue to change and are limited only by criminals’ imaginations. More often than not, the scams work like this:

After receiving a call from someone who claims to be collecting a debt for either a Utility Company or the Internal Revenue Service, people are being threatened with the loss of their heat, electricity or told they will be deported.

Utility Company Scam

The victim is contacted by a caller who states that they work at a utility company and are collecting money that is past due. The caller informs the victim that they can avoid having their utility service disconnected if they immediately pay the past due amount using a Green Dot MoneyPak card that can be purchased at a local store. The caller instructs the victim to purchase a Green Dot MoneyPak card in a specified amount and provides the victim with a phone number to be called back when the MoneyPak has been obtained.

The victim purchases a Green Dot card at a local store and proceeds to call back the number they were given. The victim is instructed to scratch off and read the MoneyPak card serial number to the perpetrator.

Once the scammer has the Green Dot MoneyPak’s serial number they are able to transfer funds onto a prepaid debit card. The victim has now lost his or her money.

Internal Revenue Service Scam

The victim receives a call and is told that they owe back taxes, fees or fines to the I.R.S. and that if they do not make an immediate payment using a Green Dot MoneyPak card they will be arrested or deported. This scam is perpetrated in the same manner as the utility scam. The results are also the same in that the victim’s money is stolen.

Summary

Green Dot MoneyPak cards themselves are legitimate products when used for the right purposes. Once purchased at a participating retailer with cash, consumers can use MoneyPaks to reload other prepaid cards, add money to a PayPal account without using a bank account, or make same-day payments to major companies. Because the cards can only be bought with cash, consumers never need to disclose their personal or financial information to a retail cashier or to make a payment.

While many schemes still involve scammers asking for funds to be wired to them, MoneyPaks have the added benefit of the scammer not having to show up at an office to claim the funds. Anyone with the 14-digit number found on the back of the MoneyPak card can drain the card of funds.

In all of the examples, the intended victims are instructed to buy a Green Dot MoneyPak card, load the amount of the fine or other money owed onto the card and then provide the number on the back of the card to the scammers, who will in turn drain the funds from the card.

For more information about this, or any other community issue, please contact
Assemblymember Dinowitz’s office at 718-796-5345.