NEW YORK–Manhattan’s district attorney is warning consumers over surging fraud on various popular payments apps, including Venmo, Cash App, PayPal, Zelle and others. Their convenience makes them “breeding grounds for theft,” according to Alvin Bragg.
Bragg told CNN the theft has ranged from savvy swindlers who find ways to unlock victims’ cell phones, to violent offenders who either “drug their targets and then take advantage or bark out commands while threatening physical harm” unless they unlock their phones.
According to the report, the issue has reached the point Bragg has sent a letter to the popular apps demanding that they put in more security measures, including lower transfer limits, additional password security, additional wait times for large transactions and increased monitoring for unusual activity.
‘Countless Unsuspecting Victims’
In the letter, Bragg also cited a 2022 letter from Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s office that was sent to the banking industry where they said fraud claims had tripled between 2020 and 2022, costing consumers hundreds of millions of dollars, CNN reported.
“A failure to take proactive steps in the name of your consumers will lead to further illegal behavior and countless unsuspecting victims,” Bragg wrote in the letter.
Venmo, CashApp, PayPal and Zelle did not respond to requests from CNN for comment.
CNN noted consumers should be protected by fraudulent electronic fund transfers, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, but as Warren’s office found, despite the regulations, in many cases consumers are not and the data suggest the bulk of unauthorized cases are going unpaid.
New Security from Apple
Apple recently introduced a new measure called “Stolen Device Protection” to help provide an additional level of security, but users must activate the new setting.
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