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We are now in an era where the old physical or traditional banking system is gradually escaping the market. With the multiple online banks that have entered the market now, the physical banking system is becoming outdated.
Even the physical banks are now making sure they have a virtual platform to make things easier for their users. This is because the virtual platform makes transactions easier and ne can send and receive money at anytime and any day(That is 24/7).
And with this, it is good to know some ways that one can be scammed on these platforms so that he or she can avoid any scamming.
With several of these platforms like Cash app, Paypal, Venmo, Zelle, and many others, all have some common type of scams that scammers use to hack and steal people's cash. But some of these platforms can also be unique in one way.
And so, in this article, checkout some common scams in the Zelle Pay platform and how you can avoid being a victim of these scams.
Common Scams on Zelle and How to Stay Safe on Zelle
Zelle is a P2P (peer-to-peer) system that allows you to quickly send and receive money conveniently from your credit card or bank account, only requiring you to enter the recipient’s phone number or email address.
Zelle's main function is to link banks account to each other and quickly send money between them for free. And with this, many people have seen the platform very important. That is why scammers have also gotten their hands into the platform to get some cash too by attacking users of Zelle.
What are some Common Scams to Look out for?
1. Impersonating Scam
Impersonating is when one will pretend to be someone else or when one will steal another person's identity. So, scammers can impersonate your family member like your brother, mother, or anyone and ask you for some cash.
And immediately you send the money, they vanish and you can trace them or even meet them anywhere.
They can also impersonate an officer, a government representative or someone close to that and ask you that you are supposed to send some cash to their account. Immediately they receive the cash, they disappear and you never see them again.
And so, you are just simply not supposed to trust any person who just texts you or calls you for some cash. You are supposed to always make sure you identify who is on the other end before you send some money if not you will always be a victim of this type of scam on Zelle.
2. Fake Calls
Most users on Zelle will normally accept with me that they have at least one time been called and asked for funds. They may say that they are a bank or even Zelle and when they call you, they will tell you to do some things which will give them access to your account and where they can manipulate and use your account anytime.
Well, the best thing we will say is that do not trust anyone especially on these calls. Usually, they make a robocall so that you can think it's one of the banks that is calling. But it is easy to make a robo call and you should not pick robo calls pretending to be a certain bank or zelle.
Any time you receive a call and on the other side, you hear that it is a robo call, then just cut off the call because the call might not help and might end up not good for you.
3. Fake SMS, Emails
This is a Frequent Scam that you will see on all money transfer apps like Cash App, Paypal, and many others. What they do is that they create an email or SMS and will send it to you with a certain link in the text or email.
That link sends you to a fake Zelle website or a fake website where you will be required to login and may be change your password or do one or two things.
But this is the problem because when you are on this fake website, anything you do, the con artist is seeing it and will later on log into your account and will wipe off your cash and then disappear.
Well, we will say the same things we say to everyone with this problem. Do not click on links in the emails or texts you receive. Or you have to always check the sender's contact to be sure you are not scammed. But the best option is to avoid clicking on the link in the text or email.
You can simply go back to your google, open the site from there, or you open your application and log in from there so that you should not be showing your login credentials to a scammer.
4. Romance/Dating Scam
It starts with a dating profile that you chat with. You could be contacted by a lady or a guy who claims to be from a dating app and when they text you, they will be very friendly and will make sure to convince you to send them money may be for transportation so that you people can meet.
But immediately you send the transportation fee, or even you pay them for meeting you, they vanish and they block you from texting them. Now the question here is; Must you date online only?
There are a lot of thieves online and you should avoid being a victim of that. Even if you are looking to date online, you should make sure to go to legit dating sites or dating apps so that you can avoid also being scammed.
5. Overpayment
You could be selling something online and someone buys one of your product via Zelle. What they do is that they make you think they sent money more than expected. They may take screenshots and show you that they sent maybe $200 instead of $100 and then tell you to resend them the over paid amount.
The thing is that they have just stolen that money and are looking for a way to cash in without having problems with the banks.
They steal from someone using an account and they forward the money to you. Fr example they will send you $100 and then claim that they sent $200 then the stolen $100 is in your account now. What you will do when they ask for refund is that you will send the $100 back which is the stolen money.
And when the previous account where the money was stolen files a report to the bank, the bank comes and debits your account and you will end up loosing $200 instead of $100 that you had to refund.
Well, you are not the one in charge of refunds. If you are contacted for this type of situation, simply contact the bank and inform them about the case and let them do the refunding themselves so that your account will be safe.
6. Lottery Scam
You might get an email or text telling you that you won something like money, phone, TV set or any other thing and then you will be provided a link that you have to claim the amount by logging into your account. But when you login, all your login info is shared to the con artist and they will have access to your account.
Just don't click on any link provided in your inbox. They are scammers looking for money. Simply go back to your apps and login from there.
7. Marketplace Scams
When buying or selling items online, scammers may ask for payment via Zelle to avoid using traditional payment methods. Once the payment is sent, the scammer disappears, and the victim is left without the promised item.
Well, before making any payments, be sure that it is a legit company that does the selling, if not you might fall victim. Also, since it is a marketplace, you can get to an agreement with the seller, that until you get the good, you won't process any payment. If the seller is really legit, then they will accept those terms.
And so, try not to make any marketplace purchases when you are not sure if it is legit, or if you'll get a good product or good.
8. Malware Scam
Phishing emails and texts can also lead to covert malware downloads, if the user is tricked into clicking on a malicious link. The link will either give them access to your account, or it will wipe out your balance and then the money will sent to the scammers account.
And the same as before, don't click on these links. They are scammers looking for preys and for money from your account that create such malwares.
Can I get a Refund on Zelle after being Scammed?
Well, Zelle can be vulnerable at times to scamming and that is why they have also tried to bring out methods to solve user's problems. You can always get a refund on Zelle if you are scammed but it is not sure.
If you are scammed or you are a victim of a fraud, you will have to file a report on the Zelle platform and that report will be sent to the bank in charge and the bank will take necessary measures to get you back your refund.
Final Thoughts on some common Zelle scams
Having a bank account is cool but when you have a bank account, you have to stay away from scammers.
Scammers have several methods to steal cash from our accounts and we have listed some of the frequent Zelle scams above.
If you have been a victim of one of the scams above, then you are supposed to file a report to Zelle. Or you can simply checkout this article and learn what to d when you are a victim of a Zelle scam.