HOUSTON – We learn more about a major settlement involving a popular mobile payment app. You could get money – if you’ve used Cash App recently. A class action settlement has required Cash App to compensate customers who were affected by fraud. Investigator Amy Davis has heard from Houstonians who have fallen victim to some type of fraud through the app.
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Thieves have discovered that it is easy to make money using the Cash App by tricking people.
A Houston Cash App user accidentally called the wrong customer service number
Sakala Lewis contacted investigator Amy Davis after losing a lot of money using Cash App and another app service. Lewis uses all the major payment apps to collect money from people when she does babysitting or pet sitting. She never had a problem with it until she had to contact someone using Cash App about a payment that was sent to the wrong account.
“It was a Saturday,” Sakala said. “I was with my children. I was with my mother.”
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Like so many of us, Sakala was a multitasker. When she couldn’t find a phone number for Cash App on the app, she googled it. She dialed the number that appeared, and the man who answered seemed helpful.
“He was very understanding,” she told consumer expert Amy Davis. “He said, ‘We’ll take care of it. Just give us a moment. We just need to do a test review.'”
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He told her that for test verification she needed to download the Team Viewer app so he could, quote, “confirm the legitimacy of her account.”
“He told me where to click on my Cash App. He didn’t do anything, but he told me where to click,” Sakala said.
A few seconds after the so-called test began, Sakala received notifications of money transfers.
“I saw notifications for $250, $999, $2,000 and $500,” she said. “So I went to my bank account and it said, ‘Ma’am, you need to stay on Cash App. Please go back to Cash App. Do not leave Cash App.'”
Team Viewer is an app that lets others control your device remotely. The man on the other end of the line wasn’t on Cash App at all, but in less than five minutes he had nearly emptied Sakala’s bank account.
“I’m screaming. I’m yelling. I’m upset,” Sakala said, recalling the incident in early August. “He’s calm and says, ‘We’ll figure it out.’ I asked to speak to a manager. She answered the phone. And she did the exact same thing.”
In total, the scammers withdrew nearly $5,800 from her account. Sakala closed the app and deleted it from her phone, then called her bank to dispute the transactions.
She lost $5,800. Cash App eventually gave Lewis her money back, but that wasn’t the case for Karen Miller.
Woman loses money during a supposed application process
Miller contacted KPRC 2 Investigates when she discovered the scammer had stolen thousands of dollars from her online. After a great first interview at a company she found through the job search website Indeed, Karen Miller was invited back for a second interview.
“So I thought it was legitimate, and everything they explained to me seemed legitimate. I had to fill out a form for my pay stub, all of that seemed legitimate,” Miller said.
Then things went downhill.
“We were on Zoom and then switched to Microsoft Teams. And they were telling me to keep clicking on different links because their website was down,” she explained.
While she waited, the employer asked her to pay the cost of her background check.
“I was using my Cash App. And that’s how they got in. My Cash App was still open on my computer.”
It appears that by clicking on the various links as instructed, Miller actually allowed someone to hack into her computer.
“And then an hour later, I realized all our honeymoon money was gone,” Miller said.3,500 US dollars.”
She lost $3,500 and never got it back. But this settlement could change that.
Cash App Billing and How to Request a Refund
A group of Cash App users claim that Cash App and its owner Block are:
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Negligence in response to two major data breaches
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There were no adequate security checks
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No response to concerns about fraudulent transactions
RELATED: 3 things to check now if you use payment apps
Cash App was ordered to pay $15 million in damages.
If users had unauthorized or fraudulent withdrawals or transfers from their Cash App account after August 23, 2018, they are eligible to file a claim for up to $2,500.
The application form must be submitted no later than 18 November 2024.
Check if you are eligible for a Cash App refund.
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