Four major banks in the U.S. Reported that collectively they had 192,000 cases of fraud reported to them by customers from the payment app Zelle in 2021 and the beginning half of 2022. Out of all those cases only about 3,500 of those customers received reimbursement for the money they lost.
While payment apps like Zelle, Venmo, and Cash App make sending money to your friends or for purchases very easy and convenient, Pew Research Center states that about one in 10 people fall victim to payment app scams or hacking.
While around 47 percent of people were able to get their money back with PayPal, very few people ever get their money back with other apps. With Venmo, only 14 percent get their money back, while it was 3.7 percent with Cash App, and less than one percent with Zelle.
There are ways using payment apps though to protect your money. First, only send money to people you know and trust and double check to make sure the phone number or email address are correct. Connect your payment app to a credit card and not a bank account. Credit cards offer greater protection for authorized transactions than bank accounts. Finally, make sure you are the only one who can access the app by having a biometric passcode like a fingerprint.
One last tip is, if you do run into problems with your payment app, double check the customer service number. There have been reports of people googling the customer support number for Cash App support only to find out the representative they are speaking to be a scammer. The BBB says Cash App support will also never ask for payment or sensitive information, such as your full bank account information. Remember to think twice before downloading any software the scammer may recommend if it’s not tied to Cash App.
