Consumer Affairs is warning scammers are increasingly finding ways to rip off money through cash paying apps like Venmo, Zelle and Paypal, and they say there’s little to no recourse if you are stiffed, in ways including takeovers of your bank accounts.
Mistakes can be simple; something like sending money to your old friend but to an outdated email address they no longer use, and one scammers have taken over. Consumer Affairs says it’s getting so bad, even Amazon decided to cut and run from Venmo.
Peer to Peer, or “P2P” apps do not offer buyer protection on consumer accounts like FDIC-insured banks do, and the apps, it reports, are not on your side as often as you might think…or hope. It reports 77 million Americans – that’s 29 percent of us, saw an online account takeover last year;
68 percent of users experienced attempted or successful scam. Experts warn it will increase this year.
In the end, consumer advocates warn it’s up to users to make sure app transactions are legitimate. It reports after social media accounts, bank or finance accounts were the most likely to be taken over. If a crook gets access to your payment app, in ways you may not know of, they can and will send money from your account to theirs – easily.
The median “hit” in 2023, experts warn, is about $180. If you carry any kind of balance in one of those apps, experts warn you to get it out of there and into an FDIC insured bank promptly. So far, they say things like GooglePay or ApplePay are safer alternatives, but nothing ever seems to fully guard against savvy thieves. The experts warn if you must use one of these pay apps, you do so only with people you fully trust and while ensuring all information is correct before pushing the “send” button. With all cash or finance transactions, paying attention to an uncomfortable or “gut” feeling could help you as well. Experts say you don’t have to understand why something feels wrong, but you may be protecting yourself from theft by paying attention to that “odd” feeling.