Hillsborough County, Florida – Victims of the latest get rich scheme are being targeted via around social media sites for the “flipping money scam,” according to the WTSP in Florida. Find out what to look for and how you can prevent yourself from becoming the next victim.
Social media users will receive a message on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or any other social site, including emails from people who promise to flip your money from hundreds to thousands, but don’t take the bait!
The report continues, they claim they can flip your $100 into $1000 or $500 into $5,000 and so on. Often, these criminals post pictures of themselves or others holding stacks of money and stating how easy is was to make thousands of dollars in minutes.
The victim usually receives the following directions:
1) Purchase a Vanilla Reload or Green Dot MoneyPak card
2) Load the card with the ($100, $300, $500, etc. – your choice)
3) Send them the card information including the PIN or code on the back of the card.
You will be promised that once you complete your part, your card balance will increase and your cash will be available to you in just a few short minutes or hours.
Sadly, victims find they have nothing but a zero balance on their account. As soon as the victim provides the PIN or code, their cash is transferred by money gram to the crooks personal account which is often untraceable. Once the funds are stolen, the scammer blocks the victim from contacting them.
The National Consumer League (NCL) offers the following tips:
- Before contacting the potential scammer, do a web search for their username or phone number to see if other consumers have posted warnings about that person. Scammers use aliases or profile names to appear legitimate (Mary Johnson) or affluent (MillionDollarMike).
- If asked to give out your MoneyPak or Vanilla control number or PIN, do not respond. Instead, contact law enforcement.
- Anyone who claims to be able to turn small amounts of up-front money into a large amount in minutes is trying to scam you.
If you suspect you are a victim of the flipping money scam, contact local law enforcement and file a complaint with NCL at www.fraud.org.
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Source: WTSP
