Houston Police Chief Jim McNiell on Monday afternoon received a phone call from a local man that has him concerned.
McNiell said the man indicated he had received a call from a man allegedly in New York indicating he had just won $10,200. The man said he was instructed to go to Walgreen’s and get a “Green Dot card,” put either $5 or $10 on it and then call the New York man and provide the card’s account number.
McNiell said the caller told him, “it sounds legit.”
“I said, ‘it’s not legit,’” McNiell said. “I told him, ‘I don’t know what the angle is, but they’re trying to get something from you and they’re going to entice you to do something.’”
A Green Dot card is a pre-paid debit card issued by the Green Dot Corporation, based in Pasadena, Calif.
“To me, it’s not worth the time for 5-or-10 dollars unless it leads to something else,” McNiell said. “They might be trying to steal some sort of information from that card, but I’m so naïve on it, I don’t know.
“I’m just wondering what in the world is going on here. I’ve never heard of this one.”
The HPD’s phone number is 417-967-3348.