Scams targeting nail salons prompt AG warning

PHOENIX (KSAZ) - There is a warning out for nail salons in Arizona. According to officials with Arizona's Attorney General's Office, someone is calling nail salons, in an effort to rip them off.

"They said you have half an hour to pay the bill, otherwise we're going to turn your electric off," said Beana Tran, who owns Herbal nails and Spa. She knew something wasn't right about the phone call that came into her salon a week ago.

"I'm like, 'that's not right'," Tran recounted. "This is a company. This is a business. You can't do this."

Tran says when it comes to her utilities, they get paid automatically. So when someone was asking for more - almost $700 more - it just didn't add up.

"I didn't know it was a scam, because I just got an email, SRP, they do the automatic withdrawal," said Tran. "I told them that, and he said 'Well, we'll do the investigation on that later, but right now you need to take care of the bill.'"

The caller wanted the cash immediately.

"They wanted me to go to the bank, withdraw the cash, and put it on a Green Dot card, prepaid card from CVS," said Tran.

Luckily, Tran didn't fall victim to the scam that has been going around the Valley, targeting nail salons. Officials with the Attorney General's Office say another scam, also involving a prepaid money card, has a caller claiming to be from the "Board of Cosmetology". They have issued a warning to salon owners to be aware of the suspicious calls.

"I just kinda freaked out," said Tran. "Did I forget my bill? Did I forget to pay because I was out of town? Just to let people be aware, it's been around. They're calling everybody now."