The selection of instant payment apps available today makes it possible to send money fast to almost anyone, anywhere.

Venmo, Apple Cash, PayPal, Zelle, Cash App, and other similar solutions boast about how fast and easy it is to complete transactions using their systems. However, speedy and easily accessible platforms can also be tools for scammers to exploit unsuspecting victims.

How does it work? Simply put, these apps are so easy to use, commonplace, and quick to process transactions that a scammer can deceive or pressure you into sending money that’s irretrievable and, in some cases, even untraceable.

How Scammers Weaponize Instant Payment Apps

Imagine you receive a message. A stranger says they accidentally transferred money to your account, purely by mistake. They may claim they entered the wrong information, and say they’ll be out hundreds or thousands of dollars if you don’t send the money back.

The person may beg and plead, saying they desperately need the money. They may even pressure you, threatening potential legal action if you don’t return it. Some people in this situation may think, “The money is in my account, all I have to do is send it back.”

Here’s where the trick comes in. After you process your transaction to “return” the money, the sender reverses the initial deposit into your account, or the app flags it after realizing it was fake. But the scammer now has your returned money. And given how fast and anonymous many of these apps are, there’s no way to get it back.

These scams happen every day, like in this story, where a person was targeted for $3,000. The safe solution here is to ignore any requests or demands to send money back. Remember not to spend it, either, as the deposit is fake and will be reversed. You may even want to report it to your bank and to the customer support line of the app in question.

In next week’s post, we’ll go over some safe strategies you can use to transfer money in a more secure way, so you can conduct transactions without putting yourself at risk. Make sure to bookmark us so you don’t miss this important follow-up post.