The accidental payment via Venmo, Zelle, or Cashapp- scam

If you received a message that a stranger has sent you a payment that you never requested, treat it with care. It may be part of a scam. As further detailed in a Los Angeles times article, the scammer will “send you payment” then later send you a request to send it back, but after the amount is sent back, which comes from a different location, the original amount will be reversed as well, leaving you out of the amount that you willingly refunded and it maybe an uphill battle to properly resolve it. Until there is a available option to approve deposits into these accounts, these cashless options are vulnerable. The article recommends either contacting customer service or simply doing nothing except to ignore the further pleading messages from the scammer to send the “accidental” transfer back.

https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/story/2022-09-06/venmo-zelle-scams-money-sent-by-accident

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