The victim of a scam involving the payment system of the new Compass Cards is warning other commuters to be cautious.

Arbab Mehrab, who sells hotdogs outside the Commercial-Broadway SkyTrain Station, purchased a Compass Card from a stranger who said he was leaving town and could no longer use it.

The suspect walked Mehrab and a security guard to the Compass machine to confirm it had a balance of $120.

“[It was] valid for a whole month,” Mehrab said. “I trusted [him].”

The problem is that the balance quickly vanished.

Because the cards are tied to a registered account, it appears the account holder quickly transferred the cash to another card. The $120 was gone.

“When I found out it was a scam I got sad,” said Mehrab.

TransLink spokesperson Jennifer Morland says they’re upset to hear about what happened, but cautioned people against buying from an unknown source.

“Customers should buy their Compass Cards through the available channels. We have Compass vending machines at every SkyTrain station," she said.

Mehrab says he learned a lesson, albeit in a hard way. He is now telling others to be careful.

“This is a good lesson… all the scams going around,” he said.

With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Scott Roberts