Don't Get Burned by Venmo, Cash App and Zelle Scams. How to Identify and Avoid Them

It's not just you. Everybody seems to be getting those toll road and "unclaimed package" text-message scams right now. Cybersecurity experts at Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 have reported that one threat actor recently registered 10,000 web domains to impersonate package-delivery and toll services. Digital payment apps like Zelle, Venmo, Cash App and PayPal are particularly at risk, simply because they make sending money to others so easy. Scammers know this, which is why they often ask victims to use them. Since Zelle launched in 2017, customers at three banks lost over $870 million to scams on the app, according to a lawsuit filed by the Consumers Financial Protection Bureau. To help stop the scams, banking giant JPMorgan Chase has started blocking certain Zelle transactions originating from social media. Getting your money back can be nearly impossible once you send it via digital payment app. Read on to learn scammers' most common schemes to keep your money out of their hands and w ... Read full article.