Random Person Sent Me Money on Cash App (What to Do & Tips)

Ever just minding your own business, and then suddenly, you get a random payment from someone on Cash App.

It may seem great, but the problem with this is that if you get unknown or big amounts, it’s actually a major red flag.

What do you do when this happens?

Here, we’ll go over what you should do, and tips to help with making sure that you’re protected.

 

Is It a Scam?

Yes, chances are it’s going to be a scam.

The thing is, random payments are scams for you to accept, and then, they can hack into your account, steal your information, and then, you’re totally out of luck.

This is scary because it’s so easy to fake a payment on this.

If you accept it, it’s basically going to push you into a chargeback scam.

You need to be careful, and always make sure that you don’t actively return the money. We’ll go into why you should never return the money yourself later on.

 

Why They Do It

There are a few reasons why you’ll get sent this, and all of them are scams with a capital S.

 

The Cash App Traditional Scam

This is basically the typical scam that people run on Cash App.

They want to target new victims, and when they send you this money, that’s a big sign that they’re trying to get something out of you.

Whether hacking the account, or something more, it’s very obvious that they’re in it for themselves, and you’re not getting a prize.

 

Fake Prize Scams

Another possible one, is that they’re scamming you because they want to tell you that you’ve gotten a reward.

How this works is

• They send you money that you’ve “won” as a partial form of payment
• The winner needs to send back the same payment for admin and processing fees

It might seem like you’re getting something out of it, but you’re not.

This is actually a very common scam, and most of the time, they usually cause the person to lose money since the scammer takes this.

Basically, if you take it, you’re essentially taking a fake prize that didn’t actually happen.

 

Refund Scams

Another popular scam is basically you get sent money, and then they tell you that it’s an accident.

They then tell you that you need to send it back.

The kicker is that it’s not the same account, but another type of account.

They also might ask for you to send more money back, or they might give you more information about the account sending this.

Basically, if you send it back, they then turn it onto you.

They tell Cash App that the payment initially made was a mistake, and they get it back.

Cash App can immediately follow through with this, so they’re getting that original money back and the money that you’ve sent.

So you’re basically paying double for some money.

 

Fake Payments

Finally, this is usually a less common one, but fake payment scams do happen.

This is where they send out money, but they claim that they don’t see this.

They say that they sent the money for something, but they never did.

If you’re selling items, you’ll give them the product, but the thing is, they never sent it out, so pretty much, if you follow through with that, you’re losing out on the money for the item.

They also might claim that you have to pay for money that they never sent, and then, they continue to scam them.

 

What to Do if You Get Random Payments on Cash App 

If you get a random payment, there are a few things that you need to make sure that you do whenever you get random payments.

 

1. NEVER Touch a Sudden Payment

Never touch the sudden payments.

If you get random payments by mistake, never touch this.

That’s because if you send it back, they can immediately reverse this, so you’re out of money.

Don’t send this back, don’t’ even touch it or use it.

Sometimes, if a payment is accidental, you can usually contact Cash Support

However, if you touch it before following the next steps, it puts you at risk.

 

2. Look at the Payment

Always look at the payment that you get.

If you’re getting money from someone, and it is for an item, this might be legitimate.

You can look at unknown payments first by

• Checking the activity tab
• Look at the payment
• And then, look at the cash tag

This is usually done to verify payments.

However, if you do all of this and still have no idea who this is, that’s a sign that it’s probably a scammer.

 

4. Ask Family and Friends

If you’re getting money from friends and family, ask them as well.

Sometimes, if you’re getting money from someone on cashapp, they may have a different $cashtag since it might not be the same one that you’re used to.

Sometimes, people use a different $cashtag if they don’t want to use their real names, so if you notice a strange name, verify with them first.

Check out the following Cash App related articles:

• Cash App Flips Scams and How to Avoid
• Tips for Easily Adding Money to Cash App
• How to Know Which – Cash App Vs Venmo
• Can You Get Cash App Card Under 18 Years
• Can You Really Get Free Cash App Money

 

5. Contact Cash App

This is a big one.

If you want to get help for a payment that was randomly sent, always talk to Cash App.

It’s super simple to do.

You can do this directly on your phone.

Go to the support page, choose “something else” and then filter out the reason you’re starting the support ticket.

If you do this, it gets the response much faster.

You can also call the support team, since that might help get the issue sorted out faster than if you’re going through different windows.

 

6. Block Them

If they start to give you their crocodile tears, just block them.

You don’t have time for the sob story, and chances are, if it’s a scam, you can’t really figure out the truth.

You can block the payment that gets sent to you by doing the following

• Press the activity tab within the home screen
• Find the name that’s on there that sent the payment.
• Go to the bottom of their profile, and then choose to block

This is also a good way to verify if the user is legitimate or not.

If it’s a random set of numbers, chances are it’s not going to be legit, so keep that in mind.

 

7. Report to Cash App

Obviously, if you report this early on, it helps keep the riffraff away.

Venmo, Chime, Zelle, and Cash App all have different reporting systems that work to help you.

What you should make sure, is that if you see a scam, and believe that they’re scamming others, you should let Cash App know about them.

To report them, do the following:

• Tap the icon for the profile
• Go to support
• Choose the option to report an issue with payment
• Pick which payment it is
• Follow the different prompts that are offered

 

8. Don’t Engage

You should always make sure that you don’t’ engage with this any further.

That way, you’re not putting yourself in danger, and it also prevents you from being at risk of further fraud.

Usually, if you don’t’ touch it, over time, the payment tends to reverse, especially if it’s not legitimate.

Waiting a little bit is sometimes an okay thing to do, but never spend the money immediately.

If they request a reversal of the transaction, they’ll take the funds, and it puts you in the red.

If you’re suspicious of a payment, you should be mindful of the different possibilities as to why someone is talking to you and be mindful that they might be scamming you.

 

8 Powerful Tips to Prevent Falling for Such Scams

There are a few tips to prevent this.

You should always be mindful of the types of payments that you’re getting, and who is sending this.

 

1. When It’s Okay to Get Payments From Strangers

It’s best to understand that the only time you should accept payments from different strangers is through charity and fundraisers.

If you’re offering Cash App as a means to possibly help with raising money, then you’ll get random Cash Apps.

You can ask for them to put memos of who they are, and what they’re paying for so that you don’t feel ill at ease when you get a random Cash App payment.

 

2. Protect Yourself

You should always protect yourself when using Cash App.

Always make sure that you keep your payment information private, and if you’re sending payments, always make sure that you’re protecting yourself from this.

You’d be surprised at how many times people use this.

 

3. Check Everything

Before you send and confirm payments, always check everything.

Sometimes, the payments from random strangers are because of a misspelling.

If that’s the case, let Cash App take care of this, since they can handle the payments for you.

If you’re not sure if it’s correct, contact the other person before you send it through.

 

4. Verify profiles

Always verify profiles whenever you’re sending out money.

That way, you prevent anything from going to the incorrect accounts.

You want to check the profile, and maybe the profile picture to ensure you’re sending it to the correct person.

When you do send it, you want to double check with them so that it’s sent to the correct company or person.

 

5. Never Send With Promises of Something in Return

Sending something in return is dangerous.

If a person claims that they’re going to send something in the future, chances are, they’re not going to.

It’s going to get you in hot water.

A lot of times, if you’re sending something with no notification for something being sent right away, you’re going to get in hot water.

The best thing to do is to wait for them to send it, clear the payment, and make sure that it doesn’t default, then send it back.

 

6. If It Sounds Too Good to Be Legitimate, It Usually is Too Good to Be Legitimate

If you think it’s a steal, and way too good for it to be something legitimate, it’s not.

A lot of times, scammers on Cash App tend to promise these lofty things that ended up being way too good for it to be true.

You get burned, and they get your money, so if you want to keep your money nice and protected, always avoid those types of people.

 

7. Verify Correctly With Cash App

Cash App does verify identity especially when handling these kinds of inquiries.

If you’re going to seek out help from Cash App, get ready to give out your phone number, legal name, email, and the last 3-4 digits of a card or a bank account which is linked.

Obviously, if they ask for personal information including the password or the PIN, that’s a sign it’s not legitimate.

You should always be mindful of the questions they ask, and only give this information out to legit support members.

 

8. Employ 2FA

Two factor authentication is something that you should have on period.

It’s a way to put a nicer buffer from scammers.

While it won’t ever be foolproof, it does work when you’re protecting yourself from the possibility of scammers.

They have to go through more hoops, so it can be the answer that you’re looking for in order to protect the accounts that you have.

So, implement it and put it in place so that you’re not scammed by anyone, and also make the life of scammers much harder.

 

Conclusion

Getting money from a stranger on Cash App seems like free money.

But it’s also a free ticket to getting into trouble with this, and it’s not something good in most cases.

If you’re noticing free money just showing up in your account, then you should be mindful of this.

Never touch the money until things are cleared by Cash App and wait for any reversals.

Always be mindful of who sends money as well.