Venmo, Zelle, Crypto and other Wire Transfer Scams

The inventiveness of criminals never ceases to amaze me. I remember back in the good old days when I just used to get emails from the imprisoned sons of Nigerian oil ministers, sending me heartrending pleas for aid that (invariably) started with the words "Dear Friend." How quaint were the days when you could see scams coming from 4,000 miles away!

Unfortunately, those days are gone. The crooks have upped their game. Substantially. 

Although the variety of scams is endless, they all, at heart, rely on one thing -- a means of payment that is not only hard to trace but - once payment is sent - nearly impossible to stop or claw back.

While criminals will continue to target credit cards and debit accounts (and likely get away with thefts from such accounts) consumers, fortunately, have some protections when that happens.

The Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA) limits consumer liability for unauthorized credit card charges to $50 (and many credit card companies will waive even that) provided that the unauthorized charges are reported to the credit card bank - in writing - within two billing cycles. Federal law provides similar protection for debit cards, ATM, ACH, and other electronic transfers under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA).

But what happens when criminals use one of the newfangled ways of payment - like Zelle, Venmo or cryptocurrency - to steal your money? You may be out of luck. 

Zelle and Venmo are two payment services that allow for person-to-person (P2P) payments using your smartphone. They are fast, convenient and easy to use, which makes them perfect for scammers. Once the criminal has your money, it's gone - often with no way to get it back. Venmo scams are on the rise, so are Zelle scams.

Crypto scams are much the same. If you transfer cryptocurrency to someone else's "wallet" -- or deposit cash into the cryptocurrency kiosk at your local Circle K -- there is no practical way to recover it. It's gone. Like forever. And generally speaking otherwise helpful laws like the FCBA and EFTA (which were passed into law decades before Crypto was even an idea) will be useless.

Wire transfers are a little different because they've been around long enough to be covered by existing law. Wire transfers are initiated by a sender's bank sending payment to the recipient's financial institution. Once the funds have been transferred, they're generally gone (unless fraud is detected and the receiving bank is notified almost immediately).

Unlike a credit card or debit card charge that can at least temporarily be frozen, or ACH transfers that can sometimes (but not always) be "reversed" - wire transfers cannot be stopped or clawed back. However, unlike P2P payments or crypto, there are situations where receiving banks and credit unions can be held liable for fraudulent wire transfers under Article 4A of the Uniform Commercial Code (South Carolina Code 36-4A-101, et. seq).

So what's a consumer to do?

First, realize that the means of payment are requested as a Red Flag in and of itself. If someone that you don't know demands to be paid using P2P or with a deposit into a crypto kiosk, it's almost certainly a scam. One of the most nefarious of the current generation of scams involves criminals posing as secret service agents "investigating" the victim's bank. The often-elderly victim is directed to withdraw their money (sometimes their life savings) from the "dirty" bank and deposit it into a crypto kiosk wallet for safekeeping. From there, of course, it's gone. (Hint: the government does not accept crypto).

Second, always verify transactions verbally or in person with someone you know. Real estate closings are particularly rich targets because the transactions are so large. Scammers (usually by hacking email accounts) learn the details of the transaction down to the penny. They can then impersonate the real estate closing lawyer's staff and tell the buyer to transfer money to a bank account instead of following the original closing instructions. These emails can be incredibly convincing and can cost consumers hundreds of thousands of dollars in an instant. Lawyers must warn of these scams and ensure that consumers never trust email alone for payment instructions.

Third, realize that you're already compromised. Scammers know, or can find out easily, where you bank. They can get into your email address. They know the opening sequence of numbers from your credit cards. And so it bears repeating -- always know who you're actually dealing with -- and always verify that any digital communication you get concerning payment or charges is real -- by personal or telephone confirmation with someone you actually know (and don't call the phone numbers in the email or text messages -- look them up independently).

And one last thing, Dear Friend: if you didn't order Norton Antivirus for $559.00, for God's sake please DON'T call "1-800-444-2344" immediately.

Stay safe everyone!