Eppicard is a debit card service that allows people to use the card in place of cash when the cash has already been paid in advance. The card helps many people by giving benefits such as Disability Financial Assistance and Ohio Works First. The card works like any other prepaid debit card but promises more security features and a few extra benefits that the customer could utilize regarding finances. Lately in Ohio there were about ten reports of a scam that started with the customers of the Eppicard. The scam started with a text message and a while later customers noticed that their debit card balance was dramatically decreased.
The scam worked like many other phishing scams that are usually observed on the internet. Phishing scams are used by scammers to retrieve personal and confidential information from people to get into their bank accounts and steal money. The Eppicard scam worked in a way that was very convincing to the customers and no one suspected it in the beginning.
In the scam the customer would receive an SMS on their cell phone saying that their Eppicard account has been frozen. To reactivate the account and enable transaction the SMS told the customer to call a number. When the customer would call the phone number the person on the other end would act as the Eppicard help desk agent and ask for the PIN and account number. If the customer gives this information their account could be easily emptied.
Under no circumstances does a company ask its customers to provide account details over the phone or by SMS, so always avoid that.