Got a Weird Venmo Request? It Could Be One of These Scams

Peer-to-peer (P2P) payment platforms like Venmo, Cash App, and Zelle make it easy to send cash to other users across the country. But this enticing convenience has also made money transfer services popular among scammers hoping to enrich themselves. The better you understand these scams, the easier it’ll be to avoid them, keeping both your money and sensitive information safe.

Key Takeaways

• Money transfer services like Venmo and Cash App are a hotbed of scam activity.
• Some scammers stage fake “accidents” like mistaken payments, while others impersonate friends, family, or customer support.
• If you receive a payment from a stranger, report it to the platform you’re using immediately—and don’t cash out the money or send it back.
• Always use general caution, and don’t send money unless you’ve confirmed the recipient is legitimate.

Important

According to the Pew Research Center, 13% of PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, or Cash App users have sent someone money only to discover it was a scam afterward. With 92 million total active users on Venmo alone, that amounts to millions of potential victims.

1. The Needy Friend or Family Member

Scammers have been impersonating the friends and family of internet users for decades, often through email and social media, and now via money transfer platforms.

It’s an eerily simple tactic. Scammers identify someone you likely trust and create a very similar Venmo account using the same photo and a similar name. Then, they send a payment request, sometimes with a note suggesting it’s an urgent situation, and hope you won’t question it or look too closely at the profile. You send the payment, and by the time you realize you were scammed, the money is likely long gone.

You may not get your money back in cases like these, especially if the payment wasn’t marked as a purchase.

2. The “Accidental” Payment

Imagine you receive an unexpected payment from a stranger. Then, soon after, they request it back, claiming it was an accident. Sounds innocent enough, right? That’s likely one reason why this scam is so widespread. It feeds on the goodwill of the average Venmo user, who might assume that someone made a real mistake.

In reality, that payment may have been made with stolen credit card details. So, if you send the money back and it’s cashed out by the fraudster, when the fraudulent payment is eventually flagged, it will involve the money sent to your account. That money may then be removed when the bank tries to recover its losses.

3. The Fake Seller

Platforms like Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace let users sell goods to others in a relatively informal setting. And while these platforms are moderated to a degree, scammers are still rampant. 

These scams often involve fake sellers listing popular or hard-to-find items that they don’t actually own. Scammers request payment before organizing an exchange, possibly offering fake pictures or screenshots of shipping information to support the notion that they’re the real deal. That way, they can collect as many payments as possible before disappearing with the money they’ve collected.

4. The Fraudulent Buyer

On the other end of the spectrum, a fake buyer might actually pay you for something you’re selling online via Venmo or Cash App—except with a stolen credit card. Later, the legitimate cardholder will dispute the fraudulent charge once it’s discovered. The issuing bank may then try to recover the money from your Venmo or Cash App account.

Fraudulent buyers can scam you in other ways, too. Some might ask you to send the item before you’re paid, while others get more elaborate by sending screenshots that look like legitimate payment confirmations.

5. The Contest Winner

These scams often begin with a notice through text, email, or social media that you’ve won a prize. The catch is that you have to pay a fee via Venmo or Cash App in order to claim it. But you’ll never get the prize in question, and the scammer will find themselves a bit richer once you’ve sent the money.

Keep in mind that, in most cases, giveaways shouldn’t require payment on your end. Beyond that, most legitimate contests and giveaways should be accompanied by clear terms and conditions on the provider’s website and/or social media account. If you can’t confirm something’s authentic, it’s probably not.

6. The Faux Customer Support Team

Posing as customer support is another time-tested scam tactic that’s made its way to modern payment platforms. It nearly always involves someone contacting you via text or email and posing as customer support for Venmo, Cash App, or a similar service.

In some cases, support scams focus on getting your login information. You might receive a text or email warning that your account needs some sort of verification. Other times, you’ll be informed that you need to send a payment—which you’ll probably never get back.

How to Avoid Payment Scams (and What to Do if You’ve Fallen Victim)

When it comes to protecting your money and financial information, the same ground rules apply to most P2P payment scams.

• Verify recipients: Always confirm the recipient is legitimate before sending money.
• Use available buyer protections: Venmo’s safety features, for example, include the ability to mark a transaction as a purchase, which offers protections that don’t apply to standard transfers between friends and family.
• Report scams: If you think you’ve been targeted by one of these scams, report the incident to the platform (Venmo, Cash App, etc.) ASAP. Most have internal procedures in place for handling these incidents.
• NEVER refund accidental payments: Even if you think someone actually sent you money by accident, don’t send it back. Report it and let the platform handle it. 
• Protect your login information: Payment platforms will never request your login information via text, email, or social media. Only enter your login details on the official app or website. If you mistakenly give a scammer your login information, change it ASAP, along with any other accounts that use similar credentials.
• Report identity theft: If you’ve given scammers personal information like your SSN, you can also report the incident at IdentityTheft.gov.

Think Before You Pay

Peer-to-peer payment platforms are never risk-free. Scammers exploit trust, carelessness, and urgency to their advantage. Stay vigilant, and if something feels wrong, trust your gut—it could save you money.