The popularity of digital payments, mobile banking options. and wallet apps for making non-cash transactions continues to surge, climbing to nearly $7 billion in annual payments around the world. That’s a target-rich environment for scammers who find ways to take advantage of remote transactions. You can avoid becoming the next victim of mobile wallet and banking fraud by understanding how these scams work.
People who sell items through an online marketplace such as Craigslist open themselves up to fraud if they accept mobile payments. Scammers offer to pay for the item with Venmo or PayPal. You accept the payment and ship the item–and then receive a notification that the transaction was reversed because the buyer used a stolen credit card. You’ve lost both the item and your money.
Fraud prevention tip: Never accept a mobile payment from anyone you don’t know or trust.
Scammers understand that it can take a day or two for the payment company to process the transaction. So, they can make a payment to you and then cancel it before it hits your account. When you finally realize it, the scammer is long gone.
Fraud prevention tip: Check your account frequently to confirm the transaction went through. In addition, link your payment app to your credit card account, because your checking or debit card account doesn’t offer fraud protection.
Mobile fraud isn’t the only kind of scam out there. Click here to find out more about types of lending fraud.
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