Beware of this popular Venmo Money scam

Don’t get scammed!

Key points

• Venmo is a popular payment app that many people use in their daily lives.
• You should use payment apps with care, as scammers may try to steal money through these apps.
• Learn how to avoid a common Venmo scam and what steps to take to protect your money.

Payment apps make it easy to pay friends, family, and small business owners. Although these apps are handy, you should use them with care. Unfortunately, scammers prey on innocent victims to steal money. You can continue to use these apps, but it’s important to be vigilant to avoid scams that could negatively impact your finances.

Venmo is a leading payment app that you can use to quickly pay for purchases or pay back your friends and family members. When you make a payment from your Venmo balance, checking account, or debit card, it’s free to send money to others.

Unfortunately, since this app has become more and more popular, it has attracted scammers. They use apps like this to steal money from other people, and it might be hard to get your money back if you get scammed.

Don’t fall victim to this Venmo scam

A common scam is on the rise. By knowing this, you can avoid making a costly mistake.

Here’s how it works: A Venmo user will receive a mysterious payment sent to them. It appears to be a payment sent by accident, and the sender may explain this and ask you to send the money back to them.

Unfortunately, if it is a scammer, sending the money back could cause you to lose money.

If the original payment sent to you was made using stolen credit card or debit card data, and the actual card user reports the fraud and makes a chargeback, you will not have more that money.

If you fail to reverse your own payment due to fraud, you would lose the money you sent back to the scammer. It’s a risk not worth taking.

What to do if a stranger sends you money

If you receive a mysterious Venmo payment that looks suspicious, don’t send it back. Instead, contact Venmo directly. They will reverse the charges for you.

Don’t be tempted to send the money back yourself, as they could be a scammer and you could lose your money. If this happens on another payment app, it’s best to follow the same steps and contact the app directly for clarification on next steps.

Follow these best practices when using payment apps

Do you like using payment apps? Follow these best practices to avoid losing your money:

• Only pay people you know. Don’t use payment apps to send money to strangers. It’s best to only send money to people you know in real life to avoid scams.
• Enable alerts. In your app settings, you can enable notifications. This way, you’ll be alerted quickly when a payment is sent to you so you can take the right steps to report unusual activity.
• Check all details before sending payments. It’s best to double-check all payment details before sending payment through Venmo or other payment apps. You can avoid costly mistakes by making sure you pay the right person.

Don’t give up on using payment apps, but be smart when using them, so you don’t fall victim to a scam that puts your money at risk. You work hard for your money, so you want to protect it.

Check out our list of the best payment apps to learn more about other popular payment apps. For additional financial advice, check out these personal finance resources.