The Martin County Sheriff’s Office is warning residents about a scam using digital wallet apps like Venmo, PayPal, Zelle, and Apple Pay.
Here’s how it works:
A scammer sends you a message through text or through your digital wallet app that reads “Oops! Can you send that back?”
When you check your balance history, you notice that someone you don’t know just sent you money.
But what’s actually happening:
Scammers connect stolen credit cards to digital wallet apps and use them to transfer money to unsuspecting users.
If you send the money back to the scammer, they will delete the stolen credit card from their account and add their own card in its place.
Then, the money you send goes back onto their own personal credit card.
Eventually, the money will be taken out of your account, and you lose that money.
But there are a few ways to prevent yourself from becoming a victim of this scam.
-Always stay vigilant in protecting your personal identifiable information, bank account information, etc.
-if someone sends you money by mistake, ask them to cancel the transaction. If the person refuses, it’s probably a scam.
-Enable additional security settings: Check your account settings to see if you can turn on additional security measures, such as multi-factor authentication, requiring a PIN number, or using fingerprint recognition.
