Venmo scams: the tricks Venmo itself warns about, and the one tap that keeps you covered
The "sent it by mistake" payment, the fake Venmo Support call, the fake purchase and the lookalike friend. How each Venmo scam works, what Venmo says it will never do, and when Purchase Protection can get your money back.
The tap that decides whether you can get money back
Before the scams themselves, one setting matters more than any of them.
When you pay someone's personal profile on Venmo, you can mark the payment as a purchase. Venmo says eligible purchases marked that way, and eligible payments to approved business accounts, are covered by Purchase Protection, which can reimburse the full payment plus the original shipping cost when something goes wrong (terms and limits apply). An approved business account shows "Eligible items covered by Purchase Protection" under the Pay button.
That is why so many Venmo scams include the same small request: "don't mark it as a purchase." Venmo's own advice is to buy from strangers only through an approved business account, or by marking the payment as a purchase. If a seller asks you not to, treat that as the answer.
1. "I sent you money by mistake, please send it back"
A stranger pays you, then messages you to say it was a mistake and asks you to send the money back as a new payment.
Don't. Venmo's advice is to contact Venmo as soon as possible so it can help reverse the original payment, and to block users who send you unexpected payments. The danger is on the other side of the trick: Venmo warns that scammers pay with stolen cards or bank details, and if the real owner reports it, the money can be taken back out of your account. Your "refund" was your own money.
2. The call from "Venmo Support"
Someone tries to sign in to your account and hits Venmo's security step, which sends a code to your phone. Then they call you, say they are Venmo Support checking some unusual activity, and ask you to read out the code you just received.
Venmo says an agent will never ask you for that code, under any circumstances. It also lists what Venmo will never do:
- ask to access your device remotely, or ask you to install another app
- create an account for you
- tell you to send money to "verify" your account
- tell you to move money from Venmo to another user through a different payment service
Anyone who does any of these is not Venmo. Hang up and contact Venmo from inside the app.
3. Texts and emails with a link
Two versions are common: a message saying you have won money from Venmo, with a link to sign in and claim it, and a fake copy of Venmo's security text with a link to a page that steals your password.
Venmo says its real security text contains no link at all, and that it only emails you from addresses ending in "venmo.com". Never sign in anywhere except the Venmo app or venmo.com. If you want to know where a link goes, paste it into our checker instead of opening it. We open it in a browser that isn't yours and tell you where it really goes, how old the site is, and whether it asks for a login or a payment.
4. Buying from a stranger
The seller has something rare or in demand (Venmo names gaming consoles, shoes, concert tickets and phones), wants payment first, and then sends nothing. Fake shipping details or screenshots are used to buy time, and there is usually that request not to mark the payment as a purchase.
Pay only through an approved business account or with the payment marked as a purchase. If the seller won't accept that, don't buy.
5. Selling to a stranger
On the selling side, Venmo describes three tricks:
- A screenshot of a payment email instead of a payment. Check your Venmo balance in the app, not an image someone sends you.
- "The payment will reach you once you ship and upload the tracking number." Venmo says this is fake: it is not a feature Venmo has.
- Payment with a stolen card. It arrives, you ship, and later the card's real owner reports it and the money is removed from your account.
Venmo's own position is that you should not use it to sell to strangers except in the ways its User Agreement allows.
6. A lookalike of your friend
A scammer copies a friend's name and profile picture, then sends or requests money from people who have paid that friend before, usually with an urgent story. Before you pay, tap the profile and look at its history, and ask your friend outside Venmo whether the request is real. Venmo also suggests making your friends list and transactions private, so strangers can't see who you pay.
Other patterns Venmo flags
- a "tech support" line, found through a search engine, that wants payment by Venmo (type the company's website yourself and use its contact page instead)
- a paper check sent to you, with a request to send part of it back on Venmo (the check bounces later and your bank takes the money back)
- a new online friend or partner asking for travel or emergency money
- a job that wants you to pay upfront, or to move someone else's money through your account
- a landlord asking for a deposit before you have seen paperwork or keys
If you already sent money
- Contact Venmo in the app as soon as possible: Me > Settings > Get Help > Chat With Us, and ask for an agent. Ask them to reverse the payment.
- If you gave away your password, the FTC's advice is to create a new, strong one (and change it anywhere else you used the same password) and to turn on two-step verification. If you read out a security code, tell Venmo when you contact them.
- Report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
If the scam came through a website or a link, you can also report it on our report page, so the next person who checks that address sees it.
Sources: Venmo: Common Scams on Venmo · Venmo: Purchase Protection · FTC: What To Do if You Were Scammed
Check a link before you click it
Paste the link or scan the QR code. We open it for you and show the real destination, the redirects on the way, and whether anyone has reported the seller behind it.
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