Ed Ziskin of Dayton said he knew right away the amazing offer he was given last week was fake, and he wanted to warn others not to be tricked.

Ziskin said he picked up the phone and a man told him about an offer from Time Warner, offering cable, phone, and internet service for what Ziskin called, “a ridiculous amount of money.”

“$360 up front for six months, then for the other six months a charge of just $59 bucks,” Ziskin said. The offer also included a Samsung tablet, and a payment for what it would cost to get out of his current contract with AT&T.

It sounded like a great deal, but Ziskin said the catch was he would have to go to Meijer, Walgreens, CVS or Walmart and pick up a Green Dot credit card, which he would use to pay the up front fee and further bills.

“It’s definitely a scam,” said Time Warner spokesperson Michael Pedelty, “We would never limit how you would pay, and make you pay in advance.”

Ziskin got a call back number and when he dialed, the message said, “Thank you for calling the loyalty rewards department of Time Warner Cable.” Then the message outlines options for customer service and tech support.

“It’s not our number, or our message,” Pedelty said.

Ziskin said he wanted to make sure others didn’t fall victim to the scam, “It’s a pretty good hustle,” he said.

Eve Mueller, spokeswoman with the Ohio Attorney General’s office said in an email that it is common to see scammers pose as legitimate or well-known companies.

“Unfortunately, we see this story of ‘imposter’ scam all the time,” she said. “Scammers prefer to use wire-transfer or Green Dot money cards. Once the consumer pays, their money is usually gone forever.”

Added Pedelty, “Always be vigilant, if the offer is too good to be true it is.”

Scams or potential scams can be reported to the company involved, the local police, and the Ohio Attorney General’s office.