How to avoid getting scammed on Zelle

Peer-to-peer (P2P) cashless transaction apps are great and have definitely made our lives easier, but as with any new technology, scammers are quick to find ways to exploit them for ill-gotten gains.

Unlike other low-level financial crimes that involve fraudulently accessing your account, spammers using cell and other payment apps rely on you to voluntarily send them the money. And since it’s difficult to prove their wrongdoing when you’re the one who made the decision to pay them, Zell is unlikely to reverse the transaction once you realize you’ve been scammed. cell even goes so far explain the difference between fraud and fraud on their website and explain why agreeing to the transaction limits their ability to reverse it. Once the money is sent, it’s essentially gone, so you’re your first and strongest line of defense.

By honing your critical thinking skills and beware of red flags, you can almost always avoid losing money to one of these wily social engineers.

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Yes, even MLB announcers can fall into the cell scammer’s trap.

Think rationally

Calling them cell scammers is a bit misleading as the scam action usually takes place on another messaging app like Telegram or WhatsApp. Cell is just the money-sucking endpoint that a scammer is trying to lead you to. So if you never get to the point where you open your cell app, the scammer can never succeed.

As a rule of thumb, avoid replying to unsolicited text messages and emails whenever possible. Any random message from an unknown or unconfirmed source asking you to do something should immediately raise your alertness. It doesn’t matter if you are asked to send money via cell or just click on a link. The mere presence of this unexpected request should set off alarm bells.

Cell’s cheat strategies

Cell scammers manipulate people’s emotions with lies to get their money. Fear, compassion, and excitement are the main levers they pull. Here are a few examples from each of those categories to look out for and why they’re silly.

• A scammer claiming to be from a utility threatens to ban a service if you don’t pay within minutes. Your utility company will never do this.

• A scammer claiming to be from your bank warns you about breaching your account. While banks often come forward when a customer’s account has been breached, they would never ask you to offer passwords or send them money through a third-party app if this came out. Log into your account as usual or call the bank’s phone line if you want to confirm everything is OK.

• A scammer pretending to be a friend or family member in financial trouble calls a new number because their old phone was lost or stolen. Hey, it’s great to want to help a loved one in a difficult situation. But would your friend or family member really do that? If you’re feeling generous, before you even think about it, try contacting the person on their regular “lost” number or through social media and ask them something only the real person might know to confirm their identity to send her money.
  

• A scammer claiming to sell puppies says they only pay upfront and through the P2P app. As the Notes of the American Kennel Club, these deals seem too good to be true because they are. Logic can often take a back seat when people have their hearts set on finding the perfect puppy. The images in the ads are usually stock photos as the dog you are trying to buy does not exist.
  

  

  
  Image Credits: Screenshot: cell

If you still need to use cell…

Even if you filter for scammers properly, there can still be legitimate instances where you need to send money to a stranger through a payment app. Here are some logs to help you safely complete these transactions: First, verify that you have the correct number, email, or person. For larger transactions, it’s a good idea to send a $1 “test” to that account next. As an extra layer of security, you can also sign up for multi-factor authentication where possible.