Sisanie Photo: Getty Images I read this article in the LA times the other day about how this guy received $500 from someone he didn’t
know via Venmo. Turns out it’s a scam. The Better Business Bureau has a warning about this “money sent by accident” scam! How the scam works… The scammer steals credit card numbers — which can be purchased in bulk on the dark web — and attaches those cards to accounts on digital wallet apps like Venmo, Cashapp and Zelle. Then, they “accidentally” send money to hundreds or thousands of people at once, whose phone numbers were similarly acquired in some back-alley of the
internet. A subsequent request to get the money back goes out to all the targets. Some of those people will ignore it, but others will send the money back. And since the $500 was from someone else’s credit card in the first place…it’s just free money for the scammer. So, if this happens to you, don’t do anything! Don’t send any money back…ignore their message…but also don’t spend it. That money isn’t yours…and it will likely get removed from your account at some point. You can also
contact Venmo Support and eventually, Venmo will remove it. Still so crazy, these scams have come to this! Get more from Sisanie HERE! Join the conversation with Yappa An older Venmo scam is making its rounds to consumers once again. In the middle of the pandemic, the Better Business Bureau reported on a Venmo scam that involved users “accidentally” receiving money from people they don’t know. Scammers use stolen credit cards to send a few hundred dollars to their victim. Then, victims receive a counter notification from the same user asking for the money back, with scammers citing their own mistake. However, the scammer replaces the stolen credit card number with their own. This way, when the victim sends back the money, it goes into the scammer's account. A recent report from the Los Angeles Times showed that more than two years later, Venmo users are still being targeted with this same scam. Additionally, it’s not just Venmo users who are susceptible to this scam. PayPal, which owns Venmo, and Zelle users have experienced similar attacks. What to do if you receive money from a strangerThe biggest threat here is that consumers will send money to the scammers. This can be problematic because the person whose credit card information was stolen will look for a refund, and that money comes from the victim’s account. Then, if the victim transfers the money back to the sender, they lose that money again. Additionally, when using digital wallet apps, it can be difficult to get these types of transactions refunded, which can lead to losses of hundreds of dollars – if not more. Venmo recommends that users reach out to its support team in the event they receive payments from people they don’t know. The company will work to reverse the payment; however, they also suggest that users block any strangers who have sent money or requested money to ensure they don’t try again. How to protect yourself from scammersThe biggest tip for consumers is to avoid sending money back to strangers who may have “accidentally” sent it to them. This ensures that money won’t be stolen from your account, and scammers will have to take additional steps to try to keep the ruse going. Securing your Venmo app with a code or two-factor authentication can help protect your account from potential scammers. It’s also important for consumers to double-check all usernames and phone numbers when sending money on Venmo, Zelle, PayPal, or any other wallet-based app, and only transfer money to friends and family. The Better Business Bureau also recommends using a credit card, rather than a debit card, on your Venmo account to provide better security. I was still in the hazy just-past-newborn phase with my son when someone sent me $500. Between diaper changes and endless bounce sessions on the yoga ball, I got a push notification on my phone. “Anna sent you $500.00 – Antique table - You now have $500.00 in your Venmo account.” Free money! Like most new parents, I had plenty of ideas for how to budget an unexpected $500. (Venmo, a digital wallet app owned by Paypal, took a seller transaction fee of 1.9% plus another 10 cents, so my $500 was actually $490.40.) But I had neither possessed nor sold an antique table. I was running on minimal sleep, but my scam sense was tingling. Anna had sent me the money by accident – or had she? Wouldn’t you double-check someone’s phone number before sending them that much money? More:Man stabbed woman at Walmart so he could go back to jail: Police More:Three warehouses proposed for area near I-83 in Manchester Township More:How much will inflation increase Social Security checks in 2023? More:Sidewalks aren't for parking, Penn Twp. police warn It might have been an honest mistake. I sure would hate to be out that much because I mistyped a digit. I looked into it, and found a Better Business Bureau warning about this “money sent by accident” scam from 2020. I looked up Venmo’s FAQs on what to do. To my surprise, Venmo said I could “simply send the payment back to that user.” (Venmo has since updated its guidance: The page says to contact Venmo support if you receive money from someone you don’t know.) How the scam works: Sorin Mihailovici, the editor-in-chief of Scam Detector, said if I’d sent the money back, I might have found myself out $500. He explained: The scammer steals credit card numbers – which can be purchased in bulk on the dark web – and attaches those cards to accounts on digital wallet apps like Venmo, Cashapp and Zelle. Then, they “accidentally” send money to hundreds or thousands of people at once, whose phone numbers were similarly acquired in some back-alley of the internet. A subsequent request to get the money back goes out to all the targets. Some of those people will ignore it, but others will send the money back. Software can automate the entire process, Mihailovici said, so even if only 1% of the scam targets send money back to them, “it’s an incredible money-making machine with extremely, extremely little effort.” The first victims, whose credit card numbers were stolen, will see the charges and get in touch with their banks, who will likely reverse the charges. So they get their money back. But you might not. Payments: In its support documentation on payments from strangers, Venmo notes that when you send money back, it will come from your Venmo balance, unless the amount requested is larger than your Venmo balance. Because the seller fee had been taken out, my balance was $490.40, remember? So if I’d sent Anna back a full $500, according to Venmo, it would have been funded entirely by my outside payment method, AKA my credit card or bank account. If the first transaction was subsequently reversed, I would have had to take it up with my bank to try and get my money back – which only ends up being successful for less than 14% of scam victims on Venmo, said Steve McFarland, the president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Los Angeles and Silicon Valley. Think of it this way: If someone handed you an envelope full of cash and said, “Hey, here’s the money I owe you for the antique table!” and then left and a minute later came back and said, “Never mind, you’re not the right person,” you would hand them back the same stack of bills. But that’s not exactly how it works with digital payments. A scammer sends you $500, but if the charge is reversed, that initial $500 is clawed back. The money you sent “back” is a different $500. It’s your $500. So it’d be like someone handing you that envelope, then when they came back, you gave them a different set of bills from your wallet. Then a minute later, someone else came along and said, “That’s my envelope of cash, someone stole it from me” and took it back. Mihailovici said Venmo is not the only app where this scam takes place, but because it’s so popular, scammers can find the most targets there. And even the updated guidance from Venmo is contradictory in places, he said: On the “payment from a stranger” page, it tells you to contact support if you get an unexpected payment; but on the “cancel a payment” page, it says if you send someone money by accident, you should ask them to send it back to you. Venmo declined to make anyone available for an interview for this story. A company spokesperson emailed this statement: “The safety and privacy of all Venmo customers and their information has always been a top company priority. When we become aware of scams, we proactively work with law enforcement agencies and industry partners, and use our own systems to mitigate the issue. We encourage customers who suspect they are the target of a scam or have had an unauthorized transaction to contact Customer Service directly.” What should you do if someone sends you money by accident? “Absolutely do not refund them,” McFarland said. Let it sit: I decided to let the money sit in my Venmo balance. Anna could work it out with Venmo or her bank if she’d really sent it by accident. A couple days later, I got spammed with requests to send back the $500. Again, I did nothing. I confess I felt my heartstrings tug a little bit: What if Anna had really sent the money by accident, and really needed it back? But I didn’t feel bad enough to potentially lose $500. I left the money in my Venmo account, and a week after it was sent to me, a payment refund for $500 went through and took the money from my Venmo balance. Venmo issued me a credit for the seller transaction fee, so I never lost any money. I guess I’ll never know whether Anna was a scammer or someone who made an honest mistake. If it’s the latter, I do hope she worked it out and is enjoying her table. Can you get scammed on Venmo If someone sends you money?Accidentally sending you money
How to avoid it: If you receive an unexpected or random payment, block the user and report the issue to Venmo's customer service department. You can also request that Venmo cancel the payment. Whatever you do, avoid any direct contact with the sender in case it's a scam.
Can I keep an accidental Venmo?Payments on Venmo generally can't be cancelled once they've reached the recipient's Venmo account, even if you accidentally paid the wrong person. But you have a few options. First, send the person you paid a charge request for the same amount of the payment so they can pay you back.
|
What happens if someone accidentally sends you money on venmo
Copyright © 2024 en.apacode Inc.
