Zelle makes sending money to friends, family members, and selected small businesses easy and convenient.
But you should watch out for Zelle scams that can trick you into sending money to fraudsters.
What Is Zelle, and How Does It Work?
Here’s how it works:
Currently, Zelle works with more than 1,700 financial institutions in the US.
you might checkZelle’s online databaseto know if your bank or credit union supports Zelle.
Scammers tell trusting Zelle users lies about something victims aspire to get or a situation they want to resolve.
And then, they ask victims to transfer money through the platform.
And sometimes, Zelle users lose their smartphones.
Anyone who gets the lost devices makes unauthorized payments, robbing the victims of tons of money.
Examples of Zelle Scams
Here are a few common Zelle scams to watch out for.
Impersonation Scam
This is one of the most common Zelle scams.
A scammer can also impersonate a legitimate company or institution and ask you to make a Zelle transfer.
Romance Scam
Online romance scammers create fake profiles on dating sites and befriend victims.
Eventually, they present themselves in challenging situations and ask victims to transfer funds through Zelle.
scammer) has paid with a Zelle business account.
And the seller needs to upgrade to a business account to receive money.
The catch is the seller would need to pay a small fee to upgrade to a Zelle business account.
You make a Zelle transaction, but the product never reaches your doorstep.
Fake Invoice Scam
This is a particularly common scam.
Fraudsters send invoices to victims for the products or services they didn’t buy and ask for Zelle transfers.
Once the victims pay the money, the scammers disappear.
Then, scammers walk victims through the process of supposedly recovering money lost in fraudulent transactions.
Eventually, victims end up paying scammers to reclaim money they never lost.
Consequently, it is almost impossible to stop a digital payment once it is sent to a recipient.
Unlike other payment networks like PayPal, Zelle often doesn’t help victims get lost funds back.
All this makes Zelle a favorite payment app for hackers to target.
How to Protect Against Zelle Scams
Here are a few ways to avoid Zelle scams.
Instead, reach out to the institute seperately and inform it about the suspicious email or message.
To stay safe, you should double-check every message that requires your immediate action.
No organization asks for a 2FA code over phone or message.
Never share your single-use code with anyone, even if someone claims to be from Zelle or your bank.
Acting fast is the key to combating a Zelle scamreport fraud as soon as possible.
