Cash App has an intuitive user interface and is one of the quickest ways to transfer money. Since the vast majority of people already have an account, there’s almost no reason you shouldn’t be using Cash App for most of your transactions, or is there?
Well, it turns out that while Cash App has a huge number of advantages going for it, there are many disadvantages that the folk at the company don’t want you to know. To go straight to the point, there are certain risks to using Cash App.
About that, you may want to argue that there are risks to everything. That’s true, but Cash App is handling your money. Every one of the risks associated with the app will potentially put your money in jeopardy.
In this article, I’ll show you some dangers of using the Cash App to prove that it’s not all good as you may think. Also, you’ll learn how to keep yourself safe from these dangers to ensure that you never lose money regardless of how much you use the app.
What are the Dangers of Using Cash App?
Before continuing, you should note that I’m not trying to claim that Cash App is dangerous or the folks at Block Inc. (formerly Square, Cash App owners) are all fraudsters. Instead, I’m trying to make you realize that there are certain risks to using the app brought about by the legitimate features they added to the app.
For the average Cash App user that only uses the most basic parts of the app occasionally, you shouldn’t fall victim to any scams. However, if you frequently make payments with the app, converse with strangers, and try to make money, it’s very important to take precautions.
Here are some dangers of using the Cash App.
- Zero protection against fraud
When you’re using a credit card from a bank, you get some liability protection to help protect you against fraud. That way, you can be certain that you won’t be losing too much money if someone succeeded in scamming you of some money.
If the credit card in question is a Cash Card, you can kiss your money goodbye. When you make a transaction on Cash App, it’s always instant and unrecoverable. If you happen to send money to a fraudster using Cash App, there’s currently no protection for you; your money is completely gone.
Many people don’t realize that to be the case until they encounter a rude awakening. When making a transaction on Cash App, you want to verify twice to ensure you trust who you’re sending money. In most cases, it’s never a good idea to send money to someone you don’t know on the app.
- Irreversible transactions
The preceding disadvantage goes hand in hand with this, but there’s a specific scenario that made me list this as a different risk. While it doesn’t involve fraud, it could also cause you to lose enormous money with no option of recovery.
Imagine if someone sent you their $Cashtag for you to send them money via Cash App. Let’s say their name is Mary Peller, and their $Cashtag is $MaryPelller because $MaryPeller is already taken. You see, the tag and you read it as $MaryPeller, which is wrong, but there’s someone else with the $MaryPeller $Cashtag.
If you attempt to send money to that wrong Cash App account, it will go directly to the account of the owner of the correct username. The most damning aspect of the entire scenario is that there’s currently no way to recover that money once the transaction is complete.
Recall that Cash App transactions are instant. Since you enjoy instant money transfer when you get the transfer right, you also suffer from an instant transfer when you get it wrong. Certainly qualifies as one of the risks of using the mobile payment app.
- Scams
If you know Cash App well, you should know how rampant scams are on the platform. Cash App scams are a dime a dozen, and there are different types of apps that fraudsters perpetrate on the app. The best way to avoid falling victim is to know what these scams are and how to prevent them.
You should note that the scams aren’t inherently a fault of Cash App. Instead, bad actors use features meant for good to try to get people to do away with their hard-earned money, tarnishing the app’s image. Here are some common Cash App scams and how to deal with them.
- Impersonating Cash App support
In case you didn’t know already, Cash App doesn’t offer live customer support through any platform outside the app. If you have an issue with the app, you can report it directly from the support section on the app, which is still the only way to get through to Cash App support.
Trying to reach Cash App via phone will only put you through to scammers. These scammers will probably ask for your phone number, Cash App PIN, etc. If you give them the information they request, you can kiss your money goodbye.
- Cash App flipping
Cash App flipping is a funny scam that asks you to exchange a much smaller amount of money for a larger amount; like money doubling. The scammer asks you to send a tiny amount for a huge return, and if/when you do, your money is gone.
- Fraudulent pet sales
With the advent of the pandemic, people realized they need companions when staying at home all day long. Since you can’t just buy a person, they resorted to the companions you could buy: pets. Scammers took advantage of this and started selling nonexistent pets on platforms like Cash App. Pay for a dog you haven’t seen and you might have kissed your money goodbye.
READ MORE: Is Cash App Safe for Sugar Babies?Here’s the Answer
Conclusion
While Cash App is generally good service, there are plenty of fraudsters over there, out for your hard-earned money; you shouldn’t let them. One of the best ways to not let them is to know how to operate and outsmart them by protecting yourself beforehand.