A new alert from the New York Department of State’s Division of Consumer Protection takes aim at something that’s become ingrained in many of our daily lives: digital payment apps.
Whether it’s Venmo, Zelle or Cash App, officials say scammers took $390 million from people nationwide last year.
And the scams are only getting more sophisticated, as the perpetrators look to trick consumers with fake profiles, sweepstakes and “accidental transfers.”
“While these payment apps are convenient and often cheaper than using an ATM, they can also come with risk,” said New York Secretary of State Walter Mosley. “Scammers are coming up with new ways to exploit these payment apps every day. So if you do choose to use them, make sure you follow these tips.”
Here are five tips:
- Never leave large amounts of money in the payment apps, so make regular transfers.
- Only send money to people you know and trust, because once the money is gone, it’s gone.
- Avoid linking your whole bank account, as it opens more of your money to potential hacks.
- Set your account to private and use the strongest security settings like fingerprint of facial recognition for transactions.
- If you feel like you’ve been scammed, report it to the payment app and the bank involved.
You can also send it to the Federal Trade Commission and Federal Bureu of Investigations.
