SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio man said ignoring that funny little warning feeling we all get in our gut from time to time ended up costing him a lot of money.
Carlos Gallegos wants to keep the same thing from happening to others, so he called the KSAT 12 Defenders.
Gallegos said he was browsing boat ads on Craigslist when he came across an ad that really caught his attention -- a Boston Whaler for just $2,500.
"It's a very good-looking boat," Gallegos told the Defenders.
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Gallegos said he contacted the seller and they texted and emailed each other back and forth.
He said the seller said she was a recent widow, had joined the military and was sent to Virginia for training before shipping out.
As the exchanges continued, the seller asked Gallegos to buy five Green Dot prepaid Visa cards to pay for the boat. He said she sent him instructions on where to buy the cards.
By this time, Gallagos began to feel something wasn't right about the deal, he said.
"There was 90 percent inside of me that said, 'Don't do it, don't do it.' But the 10 percent said, 'Go for it.' So I'm going to have to start believing my 90 percent," he said.
Gallegos told the Defenders he went ahead with the transaction because the seller assured him that she wouldn't take the money off the cards until he had the boat a few days and was satisfied with it.
But the boat never appeared, and Gallegos discovered all the money had been immediately pulled off the cards.
Gallagos shook his head as he said, "$2,500 is gone."
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He said the next time a similar situation presents itself, he will listen to his gut.
Gallegos said he hopes his experience will help others from losing their hard-earned money like he did.
The Federal Trade Commission cautions consumers to be very wary when someone tries to sell them something and insists on being paid with reloadable or prepaid debit cards like Green Dot cards or with gift cards.
The problem with the cards is that money can be taken out in such a way that the buyer can never recover it.
