North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem is warning consumers about a scam that involves prepaid debit cards.

Stenehjem says the scam artist tells a victim that he or she has won a large amount of money but must pay an upfront fee to claim it. The victim is told to buy a Green Dot MoneyPak "reloadable"
card for a certain amount, and provide the card code. The scam artist then strips the money from the card.

A reloadable debit card is similar to a normal debit or credit card, but a consumer must prepay a certain amount and can then "reload" the card with more money when the original amount runs
out.

The Green Dot MoneyPak cards are sold at thousands of retail stores.