Zelle scams lead Chase Bank to block some payments; government lawsuit dropped [U]

Update: CNBC reports that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has dismissed its lawsuit against the three lead banks, as the White House downsizes the consumer rights agency. A high rate of Zelle scams originating from social media contacts has led JPMorgan Chase Bank to block payments made through social media networks and messaging apps. Chase said that Zelle was intended as a method of transferring money to family, friends, and other trusted contacts, and should never be used to make online purchases … Zelle scams Peer-to-peer payment apps like Zelle, Venmo, and Apple Pay Cash really took off during the pandemic, and are now a well-established way for people to make instant cash transfers between friends. However, scammers have been quick to take advantage of the relatively unregulated nature of these apps, with users initially having little recourse if they fell victim to fraudsters. Zelle in particular was called out by the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) f ... Read full article.