By: NICOLAS FIERRO
Salina Post
Salina Police are actively investigating a scam, after a 22-year old woman reported she lost around $2,000.
According to the Salina Police Department (SPD) on Friday, July 18th, a 22-year old woman reported she was scammed via a phone call. Allegedly, she received a call from someone claiming to be from "Evergy" and advised her she had not paid her 'electrical bill.' The caller then told her that she needed to provide the payment 'immediately' or her power would be 'shut down.'
Moreover, the caller told her she would not be able to provide the payment to 'Evergy' and instead pay it by going to a store using 'Green Dot' (prepaid card company).
The woman then went to bank and withdrew around $500 and went to Walgreens to make the Green Dot transaction. After she made the payment, she contacted the caller from "Evergy" that the payment was made. She was then told that the payment was 'only a minimum payment with an outstanding balance of $1,000.' Afterwards, she went and obtained $500 more.
The scammer then told her that her transaction could not be accepted, because it had to be 'one payment of $1,000' instead of two separate payments. The woman then went back to Green Dot to make the single transaction, but was not allowed to do so. According to SPD, Green Dot does not allow a single transaction over $500.
Afterwards, the woman spoke with an associate from her bank and advised her that she was being scammed. The woman then contacted SPD about the incident.
Total loss was valued to be around $2,000.
SPD warns that 'no legitimate business will ever ask you to make a transaction from Green Dot and if you have concerns, contact the actual phone number of the business.'