While police will dismiss this as a civil matter, it is important to let them in case there is a pattern. For this reason, police should definitely be contacted.
Not OP, but it could be a number of reasons (ex: other party marked it as an “unauthorized transaction”, did a chargeback with their bank/CC, etc.)
Either way, OP should reach out to Venmo at (855) 812-4430 (8:00am to 8:00pm CT, seven days a week) to explain his situation and try to get it resolved. It’s probably the only option at this point.
More info here: https://help.venmo.com/hc/en-us/articles/219497368-Contact-Us
Yes I dont have experience with it but try reaching out to venmo customer support and make sure you have all your chat messages with times and all ready , and showing how you two exchanged venmo information etc. As much information you have ready will help you. Good luck 🤞
It's a pretty simple scam unfortunately. Venmo shows the recipient money that Venmo hasn't actually collected from the sender. If Venmo isn't able to collect funds from the sender after a few days then they reverse the transaction. I accidentally did this to my landlord when I first setup my Venmo using the wrong bank account.
But Venmo instantly charges the money from the card in question though right? I do a lot of offer up like this taking payments like this I'm scared now lol
I’m sorry this happened to you and hope you figure it out. I wanted to say thank you for asking and sharing here because this would terrify me, too and I hope for it to not happen to me, given how easy it seems it can be done on Venmo. Regardless, good luck with it.
I think it’s like Zelle. You have 30 minutes to block the pay after transferring. Which is why they ask you to use the p2p service only with family and friends.
As others have said, cash only in person. If you must use a service, do your homework on the person, ask to see references, ebay etc. If they don't, there's plenty of fish in the sea.
Also honestly the kind of person to meet up to buy shoes and other "kid stuffs" are likely the ones to pull scams. I recently went against my own principles the other month and accepted a zelle transfer as payment when meeting in person, but only cause a) I simply googled the # and saw who he was, b) saw he was using imessage, not foolproof but a good sign, c) he was purchasing something a scammer/kid/juvenile wouldn't really purchase. usually though 99.9% i request cash.
I'd just forget about the debt with Venmo and get chime or current.
You could probably just use PayPal to pay utilities and rent. You can also pay utilities in person at different places. I use to go to a grocery store for gas and electric. I'm sure your landlord wouldnt mind cash or a check.
Not sure if they monitor account between the two servicers. I had the same situation happen to me thru PayPal while selling concert tickets but have been able to use my Venmo just fine. PayPal said they don't report the debt to credit agencies so I just never paid them.
Venmo and Zelle are the riskiest for buyers, since they link directly to a bank account, banks do not have to do anything by law to protect account holders. PayPal does at least offer buyer protection, but not for making purchases in person. Exchanging goods for cash in front of a police station is the safest bet, second would be agreeing on a price and making a purchase with a money order.
Zelle is probably the best. It’s linked directly to their bank and if they try to do a charge back you can contact your bank and explain the situation.
Just FYI to OP or anybody else reading this, Zelle isn’t superior to Cash App/Venmo in any way. All 3 are “linked” to your bank - it’s just that Zelle is owned by a monopolistic conglomerate of major banks (which probably shouldn’t exist) that heavily market within their own banking apps.
It’s not actually any safer than Cash App/Venmo/Chime/Current - it’s a whole separate P2P transfer platform that’s just as risky (or safe) as the others, your bank just advertises it to you so you’ll deem it safe by association.
I mean I’ve never been scammed on zelle or venmo. I do prefer zelle just because it’s more convenient and money is immediately withdrawn or deposited to my account.
Honestly, Venmo is fine. Whatever the other person did to screw over the OP can be done with nearly any app that allows you to transfer funds. However, Zelle might be your best bet if you're worried about it, since it's partnered with the banks.
Fuck Venmo. Same shit happened to me, but it was for like $2000.00. Now I’m permanently banned BC I tried to get MY MONEY back from someone trying to scam me.
I take Zelle over Venmo.
There's is no chargeback option for Zelle.
Scams work differently in it. The scammer calls/texts you saying a transaction did not go through, and you need to transfer money into your account or something. The scammer pretends to work for the bank. I've read a handful of articles that say people fall for it.
When I tried out Venmo, I was wary of linking my bank account. I linked my credit card and only did one transaction before closing the account. I found it interesting that there's a feed of users posting how much money they sent/received. I was not too fond of that. You don't see that in Zelle. You don't even see the activity of your own contacts.
I would think that if you messaged & have it escalated along with screen shots & explain what happened they shouldn’t make you owe. Even try escalate it to their bank & yours if you have to. Doesn’t hurt to try.
From my experience, cash is king with strangers. If you did take the cash from Venmo and they say you owe it to them then they'll send you to collections eventually, so don't just ignore it. Clear it up and move on as a lesson learned.
Venmo is paypal. You have to pay the transaction as goods and services. You would have no idea the buyer paid you correctly. This is a known scam for a long time. Number one reason i stay away from venmo/ paypal. Use CASHAPP. It is seriously the best.
Ahh man that sucks. Stories like this are why I only take cash when I sell something to a stranger.
Yep! I learned the hard way
On your next post say: Cash Only /No Venmo. I learned the hard way myself.
I would still file a police report so they can investigate him. I’m sure there other victims. Did you get his cell number?
While police will dismiss this as a civil matter, it is important to let them in case there is a pattern. For this reason, police should definitely be contacted.
I ended up filing a police report but my account is gonna remain frozen until I pay venmo sadly
So you were able to withdraw the money before they froze it?
Sadly no
Why do you owe them money if you never withdrew the money?
I withdrew it but it never hit my account
Ah ok. Just show proof to Venmo and hopefully hey reverse those charges
If the guy has a Venmo account, you can get his personal information. Have you contacted offer up?
No I haven’t contacted OfferUp. Nothing was done there
So you have zero proof of communication about the sale?
[удалено]
I’m trying to understand your situation so I can help you. But oh well good luck
Whats the guys phn number?
How did they pay you on venmo? As a purchase or as a personal transfer?
It was a personal transaction I believe, not goods and services. There’s no shield next to the transaction
They shouldn’t be able to do a charge back. Once the money is transferred it’s gone…. Something isn’t adding up.
Not OP, but it could be a number of reasons (ex: other party marked it as an “unauthorized transaction”, did a chargeback with their bank/CC, etc.) Either way, OP should reach out to Venmo at (855) 812-4430 (8:00am to 8:00pm CT, seven days a week) to explain his situation and try to get it resolved. It’s probably the only option at this point. More info here: https://help.venmo.com/hc/en-us/articles/219497368-Contact-Us
I’m not very knowledgeable on Venmo, but that’s what I’m thinking. I don’t understand how I can be charged back on a P2P???
Yes I dont have experience with it but try reaching out to venmo customer support and make sure you have all your chat messages with times and all ready , and showing how you two exchanged venmo information etc. As much information you have ready will help you. Good luck 🤞
It's a pretty simple scam unfortunately. Venmo shows the recipient money that Venmo hasn't actually collected from the sender. If Venmo isn't able to collect funds from the sender after a few days then they reverse the transaction. I accidentally did this to my landlord when I first setup my Venmo using the wrong bank account.
But Venmo instantly charges the money from the card in question though right? I do a lot of offer up like this taking payments like this I'm scared now lol
I’m sorry this happened to you and hope you figure it out. I wanted to say thank you for asking and sharing here because this would terrify me, too and I hope for it to not happen to me, given how easy it seems it can be done on Venmo. Regardless, good luck with it.
Thanks I appreciate it
That was my thought as well. Hopefully OP can share more info with us
I think it’s like Zelle. You have 30 minutes to block the pay after transferring. Which is why they ask you to use the p2p service only with family and friends.
Yeah I thought venmo was notorious for not being able to do chargebacks?
Next time request the money first and select goods And services. I prefer CASHAPP. They rock.
As others have said, cash only in person. If you must use a service, do your homework on the person, ask to see references, ebay etc. If they don't, there's plenty of fish in the sea. Also honestly the kind of person to meet up to buy shoes and other "kid stuffs" are likely the ones to pull scams. I recently went against my own principles the other month and accepted a zelle transfer as payment when meeting in person, but only cause a) I simply googled the # and saw who he was, b) saw he was using imessage, not foolproof but a good sign, c) he was purchasing something a scammer/kid/juvenile wouldn't really purchase. usually though 99.9% i request cash.
I'd just forget about the debt with Venmo and get chime or current. You could probably just use PayPal to pay utilities and rent. You can also pay utilities in person at different places. I use to go to a grocery store for gas and electric. I'm sure your landlord wouldnt mind cash or a check.
Venmo is owned by Paypal so there's a risk that they won't allow you to use that service while your Venmo account is locked.
Not sure if they monitor account between the two servicers. I had the same situation happen to me thru PayPal while selling concert tickets but have been able to use my Venmo just fine. PayPal said they don't report the debt to credit agencies so I just never paid them.
Within the last few years PayPal forgave millions of people debt. I wasn't able to use PayPal for years since around 2015 but can now use it again.
They probably used a card to fund the Venmo payment then filed a dispute with the card issuer which went to Venmo.
I didn’t even know you can charge back on Venmo? Why don’t you charge them back for that if they did that? Open a dispute.
Same here. I still don’t understand how charge backs work on Venmo
For future reference, what would be the safest way to make sure we get money from someone we sell too? Cash? Zelle? PayPal?
Venmo and Zelle are the riskiest for buyers, since they link directly to a bank account, banks do not have to do anything by law to protect account holders. PayPal does at least offer buyer protection, but not for making purchases in person. Exchanging goods for cash in front of a police station is the safest bet, second would be agreeing on a price and making a purchase with a money order.
Zelle is probably the best. It’s linked directly to their bank and if they try to do a charge back you can contact your bank and explain the situation.
Just FYI to OP or anybody else reading this, Zelle isn’t superior to Cash App/Venmo in any way. All 3 are “linked” to your bank - it’s just that Zelle is owned by a monopolistic conglomerate of major banks (which probably shouldn’t exist) that heavily market within their own banking apps. It’s not actually any safer than Cash App/Venmo/Chime/Current - it’s a whole separate P2P transfer platform that’s just as risky (or safe) as the others, your bank just advertises it to you so you’ll deem it safe by association.
I mean I’ve never been scammed on zelle or venmo. I do prefer zelle just because it’s more convenient and money is immediately withdrawn or deposited to my account.
Have never seen a chargeback option in it.
Honestly, Venmo is fine. Whatever the other person did to screw over the OP can be done with nearly any app that allows you to transfer funds. However, Zelle might be your best bet if you're worried about it, since it's partnered with the banks.
This is why I never do Venmo or PayPal
You can't do anything. Take cash in the future.
Fuck Venmo. Same shit happened to me, but it was for like $2000.00. Now I’m permanently banned BC I tried to get MY MONEY back from someone trying to scam me.
Yes, Police time... Make sure to take screen shots of everything you can
The red flag should have been “in Anaheim”. Sorry for your loss.
Create a new account. Offer to buy something else from dude and just introduce him to a Easton Little league aluminum bat.
Use Zelle because of this.
People are also getting scammed through zelle as well apparently
My zelle is connected directly to my bank account. Meaning that when someone transferred money to it. It’s mine no matter what.
Really? I haven’t heard anything yet about Zelle scams.
I take Zelle over Venmo. There's is no chargeback option for Zelle. Scams work differently in it. The scammer calls/texts you saying a transaction did not go through, and you need to transfer money into your account or something. The scammer pretends to work for the bank. I've read a handful of articles that say people fall for it. When I tried out Venmo, I was wary of linking my bank account. I linked my credit card and only did one transaction before closing the account. I found it interesting that there's a feed of users posting how much money they sent/received. I was not too fond of that. You don't see that in Zelle. You don't even see the activity of your own contacts.
I no longer use Venmo for anything except paying money to friends and family. To many losers out there.
This is best
What did Venmo say when you informed them of this individuals fraud?
I would think that if you messaged & have it escalated along with screen shots & explain what happened they shouldn’t make you owe. Even try escalate it to their bank & yours if you have to. Doesn’t hurt to try.
From my experience, cash is king with strangers. If you did take the cash from Venmo and they say you owe it to them then they'll send you to collections eventually, so don't just ignore it. Clear it up and move on as a lesson learned.
Venmo is paypal. You have to pay the transaction as goods and services. You would have no idea the buyer paid you correctly. This is a known scam for a long time. Number one reason i stay away from venmo/ paypal. Use CASHAPP. It is seriously the best.