Venmo Scams Hit Kentucky Business: What You Need to Know

VENMO IS CONVENIENT BUT COMES WITH DRAWBACKS

Venmo has been a game changer for me. I love being able to send my friends and family money and now more and more businesses are using it for payment. Case in point, we have a horse and both our veterinarian and farrier use the service. I don't even have to be present when they take care of my horses. They send me a total and I send it over to them. Easy peasy.

SCAMMERS ARE POSING AS BUSINESSES

But now, you have to be really careful when you send funds to a business because scammers have found a way to trick people into sending them money by posing as legitimate local businesses.

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CALHOUN KY BUSINESS HIT WITH VENMO SCAM

I noticed a post on Facebook from Cabin Embroidery and Gifts in Calhoun, KY, warning people about the scam.

Cabin Fever Facebook

Last week, they posted on their page about a t-shirt fundraiser for the flood victims in McLean County. They offered up their Venmo and Paypal information on the post. They had no idea a scammer had created a duplicate account that was very close to theirs and even used their logo.

Cabin Fever Facebook

On April 11th, they posted the following:

@dayna-butterworth

**PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU ARE SENDING VENMO for the shirt fundraiser TO THE CORRECT ACCOUNT!! I have been notified there is an account that has been made that looks like mine but has an exta H at the end!!

Ok I changed the color of my logo... - Cabin Fever Embroidery & Gifts | Facebook

I reached out to Cabin Embroidery and Gifts and they told me that though Venmo has since deleted the scam account, it's always important to follow all the safety protocals before transferring money to a new account.

Photo by SEO Galaxy on Unsplash

WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE VICTIM TO A VENMO SCAM

1. Verify the name or email is exactly the same (copy and paste if you can to look up an account)

2. Verify the last four digits of the phone number

3. Ask for a link from the person you want to pay.

Many times, people just look at the photo but scammers have started using the same photo as the real account so that's not a sure fire way to check.

If you think you are the victim of fraud, contact Venmo and the business or individual immediately. Here's what their website says to do.

If you accidentally sent a payment to a stranger, please gather the following info and contact our support team, and we'll do our best to help:

Username of the person that you sent the payment to
Amount of the payment
Date of the payment
Username, phone number, and email address of the person that you meant to pay

If you sent a Venmo payment to an unregistered phone number or email address, you should be able to "take back" the pending payment.

MORE VENMO SCAMS

This isn't the only Venmo scam out there. The Venmo website warns users to be on the lookout for the following scams.

Fake Prize or Cash Reward
Call Pretending To Be Venmo
Text Messages Pretending To Be Venmo
Buying Something From a Stranger
Selling Something To a Stranger
Call Pretending To Be Tech Support
Someone Pretends To Be Your Friend And Sends or Requests Money
Payments from Strangers
Paper Check Scam
Romance Scam
Job Offer or Employment Scam
Fake Landlord or Rental Deposit Scam
Crisis or Urgency-Based Scam

SUPPORT MCLEAN COUNTY FLOOD VICTIMS

Now, just because some scammer decided to be a jerk doesn't mean you shouldn't get one of these awesome t-shirts to support the flood victims. Just be sure you are sending it to the RIGHT venmo account! Here's a link: Venmo | Dayna Butterworth

SHARE!! SHARE!! Amy Weidemann Cox... - Cabin Fever Embroidery & Gifts | Facebook

Sunrise Creates Bob Ross Worthy Skies Over Daviess County

Some people believe that a golden sunrise represents hope, enlightenment, a fresh start, or a new beginning. Whatever the beautiful colors and reflections of light mean to you, I think we can all agree mother nature was truly showing off today!

Gallery Credit: MKAT

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