Six suspected con artists have been arrested for their involvement in a counterfeit Metro fare card scheme.

The suspects are accused of trading in counterfeit paper farecards to Metro farecare machines in order to receive legitimate ones, or adding the phony amounts to SmarTrip cards. The cards would then be resold, with the scammers earning at least $16,000.

The six suspects were arrested in D.C. and Virgina stations including Judiciary Square, Union Station, Pentagon and Eastern Market. The Post notes the individuals had the cards in their possession.

Honest customers are going to be affected, says John Catoe, Metro’s general manager.

“The amount of money customers may trade in the value of a paper fare card has been lowered from a maximum of $40 to $7,” Catoe said in a statement.

SmarTrip cards that investigators believe are linked to the scheme have also been frozen to allow Metro personnel to track if more fraudulent transactions occur.

Photo by moworld