Another Peninsula Resident Falls Victim to Money Card Scam

By Bay City News Service:

Police announced Thursday that a resident was the victim of a Green Dot money card scam last month, a kind of scam that seems to be growing, said South San Francisco Police spokesman Sgt. Tom Neary.

“We’ve had a ton of them,” Neary said.

He said the money card scams are happening all over the planet, and suspects seem to be targeting the elderly.

This incident left a woman living in the 800 block of Hemlock Avenue and in her fifties without $2,000.

The woman responded to an advertisement on Craig’s List to buy a Honda Accord located out of state. She was told by the person allegedly selling the car to use Google Wallet to complete the transaction with Green Dot money cards.

Once she completed the purchase, the victim received a confirmation number from Google Wallet, but there was no vehicle for sale.

She tried to reach the alleged scammer by email and cell phone, but both were no longer working.

Any kind of payment over the Internet is risky, Neary said.

“Any transactions should be done face to face and money should be exchanged at the time of sale,” Neary said.

(Image via Shutterstock)