Avoid Payment Scams on Paypal, Zelle, Venmo, and Others
Peer-to-peer payment services such as PayPal, Venmo, or Zelle allow users to send money to each other from an app on their mobile device. Unlike more traditional banking systems, many payment apps will not shoulder the cost of fraud. This means that someone who paid scammers using one of these services may not be successful in getting the company to reimburse them for their losses to the fraud.
Look out for the following scams when using payment apps:
- Fraudulent payment methods. In one common scheme, scammers will connect a stolen credit card to a payment app. They then look for people selling big ticket items (such as a computer, tablet, or car). The scammers will offer to pay for the product using the app. The seller accepts the payment and sends the item, but soon discovers that the payment sent is not legitimate, and the money is removed from his or her account.
- Cancelled payments. Some payment apps take several days to process a transaction. Scammers take advantage of this by setting up transactions and cancelling them before they go through.
- You have been paid too much. For example, a spoofed email says that you’ve been paid $3,000 for a camera you listed at $300! The sender asks you to ship the camera in addition to the extra $2,700 you were “paid” by mistake.
- Fake official emails. Many fraudsters send spoofed emails warning that an account is about to be suspended, and that the account holder must enter their password in a spoofed webpage. Generally, payment app vendors will never ask you to enter your password unless you are on the login page.
Protect yourself when paying with a payment app:
- Use money transfer with friends: Protect yourself from scams by only using money transfer apps for their intended purpose—sending money to people you personally know.
- Link your money transfer app to a credit card. As with many other purchases, using a credit card will help protect you if you don’t get the goods or services you paid for.
- Check your account to be sure that the money transferred: If you do use a peer-to-peer payment app to sell something, be aware that it takes a few days for some payments to transfer. If you have any concerns that a payer didn’t really send the money, be sure to check your account directly.
For more tips you can trust, visit bbb.org
