Police departments in the Texas towns of Plano and Mesquite are investigating a fraud scheme were someone drained three prepaid cards purchased by a woman in Plano at a Wal-Mart store. The woman sent the cards to her son in Ohio as a Christmas present, and when he tried to use them, the balance was $1.96 instead of the $100 the mother purchased.
Mesquite police are investigating the fraud. They want to take a look at surveillance video at the three stores where the purchases were made.
Plano police told News 8 that similar crimes are rising in their city too, as criminals are getting more sophisticated.
The news report from a Dallas Fort Worth television station says that Wal-Mart was pulling prepaid cards from its shelves. The story highlights how prepaid cards can confuse customers in that the customer is seeking a refund from Wal-Mart, which was not the issuer and may or may not have been the program manager. Companies need to have clear plans in place to address these kinds of issues.