July 2024 Scam: Money Transfer Schemes

Many of us are familiar with peer-to-peer money transfer apps like Venmo, Cash App, and Zelle, either through personal use or by hearing about them. These services allow users to transfer money quickly and easily without cash or bank transfers. The ease and speed of these transactions make it appealing but the downside is that they're not usually reversible.  As these platforms are becoming increasingly more popular, scammers are taking advantage and exploiting users with different types of scams.

1. "Accidental" Transfer: The scammer sends you money and then claims it was an accident. If you send the money back, you may discover that the original payment was fraudulent or from a stolen account. 

2. Overpayment Schemes: In this version, you receive a payment larger than you were expecting and you are asked to send back the difference. The scammer then cancels the original payment.

3. Phishing Scams: Scammers may pose as someone in distress or in need of urgent help, asking for a small payment through these apps. Once the payment is made, they disappear without fulfilling their end of the bargain.

4. Impersonation Scams: Cyber criminals create fake profiles impersonating legitimate people, businesses, and government agencies to access your money or personal information.

Here are some tips to protect yourself:

• Verify identity: Always verify the identity of the person you are transacting with, especially if it's a random payment. Some apps may ask for the last 4 digits of the receiver's phone number. 
  

• Be suspicious: If someone sends you money you weren't expecting or more than expected, don't send it back or pay the difference unless you can verify the transaction is legitimate. 
  

• Security settings: Review the security features of each platform you have an account with. Make sure you use strong, unique passwords and enable two-factor authentication. 
  

Sources: forbes.com, thomason reuters.com

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