Better Business Bureau is Warning Of New ‘Accidental’ Venmo Scam

Using money transfer apps can be extremely convenient when you need to send money to family and friends. Instead of pulling out cash to pool money for a group gift or to pay someone back for lunch, for example, you can easily transfer money from your phone. It couldn’t be easier.

If you like to use money transfer apps, be careful. The Better Business Bureau is warning us about a new scam that involves money transfer apps, and scammers seem to be targeting people randomly.

Basically, the scammers are hoping that the people they target are nice and honest. They are hoping people will want to do the right thing, but by doing the right thing, they’re falling for the scammer’s plan.

Here’s how the scam works. You look in your bank account and realize that a couple thousand dollars suddenly showed up in your account from someone you don’t know. The money was transferred from an app like Venmo or Zelle.

Or, perhaps you didn’t even know the money was in your account. Then you get a text from someone you don’t know, and the text says something like, “Ooops. I didn’t mean to send you that money. Could you please send it back?” Then you look in your bank account and see the extra money.

Don’t fall for it. Even though it seems like sending the money back would be the nice thing to do, don’t do it. Watch the video below to find out why sending the money back is exactly what the scammer wants you to do.

If someone “accidentally” sends you cash, do not send it back. Just ignore the text from the stranger, wait a few days, and the money will most likely disappear from your bank account as if it were never there in the first place.

Share the details about this new scam with your family and friends so they don’t fall for it either.

Have you ever fallen for a scam? Do you think you would’ve fallen for the Venmo scam if you hadn’t heard this warning? Are you going to share the information about this scam with your family and friends?