Imagine casually scrolling through your phone when you suddenly get a notification about receiving a big sum of money from someone you don’t know. Your initial excitement quickly gives way to confusion as your inbox is filled with messages claiming the person made a mistake and the money wasn’t meant for you! This might be your first tip that it could be an accidental payment scam.
Billions of dollars are sent everyday through platforms like Zelle, PayPal, Venmo, and Cash App, which is why scammers are using them to try to steal your hard earned money. These accidental payment scams are growing in number, so we want to share some of the telltale signs, how these scams work, and most importantly, how to outsmart the scammers when they try to run this scam on you.
What is an Accidental Payment Scam?
An accidental payment scam usually starts with a notification of money sent to you from someone you don’t know. It’s then followed swiftly by a lot of messages pleading for its return. At this point, you might be wondering – how can it be a scam if someone sent me money first? Here’s the issue: the money wasn’t sent out of goodwill or by mistake, it was probably sent to you from a compromised credit card or bank account. Essentially, the scammer is using you as a pawn in their money laundering game. Unfortunately, if the bank or credit card company reverses or cancels the charges, you no longer get the money you thought you were receiving AND the scammer gets away with the money you sent them.
How the Accidental Payment Scam Works
Before the scammer targets you or you receive the payment, the scammer gains access to someone else’s money, usually a credit card, debit card, or bank account. With the financial information in hand, they create a fake profile on popular payment apps like Zelle or Venmo. Using these stolen numbers or funds, they then choose someone to “accidentally” send money to – often hundreds or thousands of dollars. They may indicate that it’s for a deposit on an apartment or a large payment for something they bought from someone online. That’s when they send the person several messages asking them to do the right thing and quickly return the money. Like most scams, they use a lot of emotion and pressure you to act quickly. While you may see yourself as a good Samaritan returning misplaced funds, you are unknowingly laundering money from your own account straight into the scammer’s wallet. When the bank or credit card company catches the unauthorized transfer of funds, they’ll quickly reverse the charges, taking the money away from you.
How to Avoid Falling for the Accidental Payment Scam
What should you do if you find yourself on the receiving end of an “accidental” payment or deposit? Rule number one: never send money to strangers, especially via payment apps, no matter how much pressure they put on you or how tempting an offer they make you. Rule number two: do not engage with the sender. Instead of sending a message back to the sender, contact the payment app directly and let them know about the unexpected deposit – it’s not the first time they’ve seen this scam play out. Next, prepare yourself for the full-court press from the scammer. Often they’ll resort to desperate tactics to tug at your heartstrings. They’ll tell you tales of their starving family, medical bills and unpaid rent, all in an attempt to guilt-trip you into sending the money. They also might try to make you an offer or a deal, telling you to keep a portion of the money if you just send back a portion. If other tactics fail, they also might threaten you, claiming to have contacted law enforcement or even showing up where you live. However, you must resist the urge to engage with them. Remember, it’s important not to act quickly or on emotion, but follow the payment app’s proper procedures for these types of issues.
The Dilemma: Do you keep the money?
Can you keep the money that has been sent to you? In the eyes of the law – and common decency – the answer is a resounding no. Much like finding a bag of stolen money, you’re not the rightful owner, and if you keep the stolen money, it may only be a matter of time before someone tries to reclaim what’s rightfully theirs. Even if you try to spend the money or transfer it to another account, you could be expected to return the same amount. Save yourself the headache and contact the app’s customer support. It’s both the ethical and legal thing to do.
Separating Fact from Fiction
Accidents do happen, and someone may truly send you money by accident. However, it’s not your job to play detective and determine the sender’s motives. While we recommend not engaging with scammers, if you truly suspect a genuine mistake, encourage the sender to reach out to the app’s customer service team – and do the same yourself. Don’t engage in a back and forth conversation, and instead, let the professionals handle the heavy lifting. Like we said, they’ve probably delt with issues just like this before.