If you're using these cash apps, you might not think twice about verifying your credentials. Sometimes, you can receive an email out of the blue to try to trick you into handing over key information.ĭeidre Davis, chief marketing officer for the Michigan State University Federal Credit Union, said often the consumer gets an email that might look like it's from PayPal or Venmo, which is owned by PayPal. Thieves may use an email to get login info Her story is an important reminder about how cyber thieves can try to use payment apps as a portal to your bank account. When she started talking about the incident with friends and others on social media, though, she was surprised to learn that others had faced similar hacking trouble. Ultimately, she did not lose any money because she acted quickly. Trimer declined to name the bank, as she was concerned about security and felt the bank now was doing its best to respond to her problem. She notified the bank immediately after spotting the odd online activity but the first transaction went through anyway. She's still not sure exactly what happened in her case. 'I couldn't touch my money until they figured it out,' Trimer said. If a large amount of money is withdrawn, it could be right around the time you're set to pay big bills, such as a mortgage or other payments. If you have automatic bill pay set up for some utilities, you're looking at resetting those, too. Many times, consumers need to close the bank account and open another one to control the damage. Such sneaky scams can end up draining bank accounts, leaving the consumer stuck with a huge hassle as they try to work things out with the bank. It's expected that the number will be higher in 2018. More than $500 million was lost overall to fraud in 2017 involving a variety of peer-to-peer payments, according to Javelin's research. I can drain your account without ever having to do anything in person,' said Al Pascual, senior vice president of research and head of fraud and security for Javelin Strategy & Research. Thieves who once might have used stolen paper checks to try to get money out of your bank account now are turning to digital-fraud schemes as a lower-risk option. Often, though, the scammers can start out by somehow getting login credentials for the mobile payment account. How the scam starts can be pure speculation, as there are many strategies. 'PayPal accounts are prime targets for scammers because they are linked to the user's bank account or payment card,' said Adam Levin, Founder of CyberScout. Many consumers love being able to repay their friends quickly for coffee or lunch via a cash transfer app, but the risk of getting caught by a con artist remains real. Instead, it's more common for someone to say 'Venmo me.' These days, someone is less likely to say 'catch me next time' if you owe them $20 or $30. 'One Ring' phone scam comes in middle of night, luring you into costly callback Trump's threat to raise tariffs could bring bumpy ride for stocks, 401(k) The problem? It's likely, her bank later told her, that she somehow was caught in a scam in late March where con artists access your money in your bank account via electronic money transfer accounts, such as PayPal.

'A $300 here, a $450 there,' said Trimer, who lives in Grosse Pointe Farms. She spotted the trouble when she went online to check her bank statement and immediately alerted the bank that the money was ready to be paid to a credit card account - an account that wasn't hers.Īnd then, there were a few other pending transactions in the wings, again for items that she didn't buy and accounts that had nothing to do with her. In one brief moment, she saw roughly $9,000 being debited out of her checking account. Margaret Trimer has one of those financial horror stories that could keep anyone awake at night. Watch Video: Why users ditch their wallets for smartphones

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