ABA Foundation and FTC Release Consumer Education Infographic on Payment App Scams

The American Bankers Association Foundation and the Federal Trade Commission today released an infographic with tips and information to help consumers protect themselves when using mobile payment apps and services. As the popularity of person-to-person payment apps and services has soared, fraudsters are increasingly attempting to use the services to scam victims.

“It’s easier and faster than ever to send money to friends and family, but unfortunately that speed and convenience also attracts criminals,” said Paul Benda, senior vice president, operational risk and cybersecurity at ABA. “Remember that your bank will never call, text or email you and ask for personal information or direct you to send money to anyone, including yourself. If anything sounds suspicious or unusual, trust your gut and contact your bank through a trusted channel like your mobile app or the number on the back of your debit card.” 

In the infographic, the ABA Foundation and the FTC provide three tips to help consumers avoid sending money to scammers: 

• Don’t click on links in an unexpected email, text message, or direct message that asks you to send money. Don’t give any personal or sensitive information like your username, PIN or password.  
• Confirm that you know the person you’re sending money to.  
• When sending to someone you know, double-check their information before you hit send.  

The ABA Foundation and the FTC also suggest taking the following steps to protect your account: 

• Use multi-factor authentication. This means you need two or more credentials to get into your account: your password plus something else like an authentication code or fingerprint. 
• Never share your credentials, like a verification code you get via text or authentication app. 
• Set up alerts in the payment app to get transaction notifications outside of the app environment, such as via email or text.  
• Regularly check your payment app and bank accounts to make sure no unauthorized payments have been sent from or accepted by your account.  

If you are the victim of a mobile payment app scam, you should report it to the payment app or service, tell your financial institution, and report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. 

The infographic, developed jointly by the ABA Foundation and the FTC, is part of an ongoing series of infographics aimed at educating consumers about scams and how to protect themselves. The other ABA Foundation and FTC infographics cover topics including online dating scams, fake check scams, phishing scams, money mule scams, imposter scams and government imposter scams. 

To view the mobile payment apps and services infographic, click here: https://www.aba.com/news-research/research-analysis/how-to-safely-use-mobile-payment-apps-and-services. 

To learn more about the banking industry’s efforts to raise consumer awareness around the phishing threat including additional tips on spotting scams visit BanksNeverAskThat.com.