So I 100% know it’s a scam, but it happened to my aunt. The person sent her $40 via Zelle and texted that it was sent by mistake and asked for her to send it back to pay a bill. Even requested the amount via Zelle to pay him back. He screenshotted the transaction.
They end up spamming my aunt by calling her non-stop. She picked up and told them to call later since she’s working. Later that night, they called multiple times using a different number. They were super rude and asking for their money back. In an effort to get them to stop, she told them to meet at the bank to get the money in cash the next day.
When I came back home, i told her she cannot meet them in person. I told her to call her bank immediately and alert them of the transaction and let them handle it. The bank helped her flag that transaction, to not meet them in person or send the money back, instead, tell them to talk to their bank. Since the transaction was not from the same bank my aunt uses, they weren’t able to reverse it and they only see it as “unknown”. That to me is a big red flag that it is a scam. They also instructed her to work with law enforcement if they continue to harass her via calls.
I instructed her to send a quick text along the line of “I have alerted my bank of this transfer. They said you should call your bank to reverse the charge since they have the authority to do so. Please do not contact me moving forward or I will get law enforcement involved.”
Hopefully I gave her good advice with us escalating the issue to the police if they do continue to harass. I’m more so paranoid they would show up to our house and worried about everyone safety. But all signs (and all of my research) are giving huge red flags that it’s a scam.
Edit: sorry, I’m pregnant and paranoid so I just need some validation I’m taking the right steps 🥲
Someone sent $40 through Zelle and asking for it back
byu/Flower_Monster inpersonalfinance
Posted by Flower_Monster
4 Comments
Any action that doesn’t involve sending the money back is the correct one.
Next time this happens simply tell them to fuck off immediately and block their numbers. They do this scam to as many people as they possibly can at once. The more you reply to them the more the opportunities they have to manipulate, deceive and threaten you. The less you give them, the more likely they are to just move on to their next potential victim.
you’ve def made the right move. if it’s legitimate they can take it up with their bank- it’s on them, if it’s not legitimate you have to be clear as day that you aren’t sending it back so eventually they just give up. based on the harassment i’d bet it’s not legitimate but *either way* you made the right move
You did everything right. This is a classic Zelle scam and you protected your aunt perfectly. Never return money via Zelle and always get your bank involved if anything feels off.
If scammers keep calling, block their numbers and tell them all contact is being logged for law enforcement. You’re looking out for your family and acting with caution is always the best call.