3 Ways to Spot This Common Venmo Scam

Venmo makes it quick and easy to send money to other people. For the most part, that's a good thing. But it also means that Venmo, like other popular payment apps, is a hotbed for scams.

Victims usually don't just lose a small amount, either. The median loss for Venmo scams was $700 in 2021, according to a report by the Better Business Bureau.

If you use Venmo, it's important to know about what kind of scams are out there so you can protect yourself. And there's one, in particular, that has been extremely common for years -- the "accidental" payment scam. It's simple and effective, but once you know the warning signs, you won't have any trouble spotting it.

1. Someone you don't know sends you money

The scam starts with the victim receiving money from a stranger. It can be for any amount. This often throws people off and gets them to let their guard down, as you might think that a scammer wouldn't give you free money.

2. They send you a message saying it was a mistake

Next, the scammer messages you and says they sent you that payment by accident. This normally happens pretty shortly after you get the money. They may also make up some story about how you have a similar username to a friend of theirs, who was supposedly the intended recipient.

3. They ask you to send the money back

In their message, the scammer will ask you if you can send them a payment for the same amount. If they sent you $500, they'll ask you to just send $500 back. It may seem reasonable. After all, won't you be sending back the money you received by mistake? Unfortunately, that isn't how it works.

What happens next

If you send any money back as requested, you're going to lose it. And it will be your own money that you're losing.

That's because the scammer sent you the original payment using a stolen credit card, debit card, or bank account number. When the person who owns that card or bank account notices the fraud, they're going to dispute the transaction. Venmo will then reverse it, taking that money back from your account.

Here's a summary of how it all happens, when the scam goes as intended:

• You receive money from a stranger on Venmo. The source of that money was a stolen payment card or bank account.
• You send the stranger the same amount of money back. However, the source of this money is technically your Venmo account.
• The stranger withdraws the money right away so that Venmo can't take it back.
• The account holder reports the fraudulent payment.
• Venmo withdraws the money from the original payment sent to your account.

Let's say a stranger sent you $500. You technically can't refund it, as Venmo doesn't allow that. Instead, you'd need to create a new transaction to send the same amount back. But once the original transaction gets reported as fraud, Venmo is going to take $500 from your account.

If you don't have $500 in your account, it will leave you with a negative balance. Venmo will freeze your account until you've paid off the balance, and if you don't, it could send your account to collections.

What to do if you get an unexpected Venmo payment

If a stranger sends you money on Venmo, don't send them anything back. Contact the Venmo Support team and let them handle it. That's advice provided by the Venmo Help Center, which also says that you can block the stranger who sent you the payment. That way, they won't be able to send you any more "accidental" payments or messages.

This is one of those situations where scammers take advantage of people's good nature. If this really was an accidental payment, the person who sent it can handle that with Venmo. Don't put your own money at risk, because odds are it's a scam.