Unfortunately, this growth has also led to an increase in Venmo scams.
This guide delves into common scamming techniques scammers use and offers advice on how to avoid them.
This is because scammers may use stolen credit cards to send money to your account.
Venmo
Once you “refund” them, they’ll withdraw the funds or transfer them to another account.
That means you’ll wind up with a deficit equal to however much you refunded the scammer.
They may express interest in your product and recommend using Venmo for payment.
Justin Duino / How-To Geek
Of course, the information they want is only generated once you actually ship an item.
They may also use stolen credit cards for payments that are later refunded.
Scammers might also send fake invoices indicating they’ve overpaid you and ask for a refund.
Hannah Stryker / How-To Geek
They may also hack into your friend’s real account to carry out this scam.
If you ever receive an urgent money request from a friend, verify the authenticity of the request.
If they deny it, inform them that scammers are impersonating them to run a scam.
This way, they can alert others in their contacts and prevent them from becoming victims as well.
Beware of Phishing Emails and Texts
Scammers can also useemail phishing techniquesto trick you on Venmo.
Clicking on the malicious link may compromise your Venmo account, email, or unit.
If you provide your personal information after clicking the link, scammers could exploit it for fraudulent activities.
Refrain from sharing personal information via phone or email, as Venmo never requests it.
After finishing their operation, they might express gratitude and then depart.
Days later, you’ll receive an official payment confirmation for a transaction you never authorized.
Hence, avoid assisting random strangers seeking to use your phone.
If they seem legit and require urgent assistance, ask them to provide the number they wish to call.
They often promote these deceptive sites through search ads to ensure they appear at the top of search results.
So, don’t choose ads at the top of search results.
Instead, scroll down and fire up the website from the first search result.
Likewise, carefully download the official Venmo app from the Google Play Store or the App Store.
Moreover, if your personal information has been compromised, report this identity theft to the appropriate authorities.
This will help protect you from potential legal consequences if scammers misuse your identity.
