Greg's Corner

Cash flipping scam not confined to one app

By Greg Collier

We’ve discussed cash flipping scams in the past. They are mostly associated with the payment app Cash App. Cash App has giveaways on Fridays that they call #CashAppFridays. If you follow that hashtag on Twitter or Instagram, you could be eligible for a cash prize from Cash App. This has led to a number of scammers who have hijacked the hashtag to commit the cash, or money, flipping scam.

The scammers try to convince their victims that they’ll give the victims a lot of money in exchange for a little money. For example, a scammer may promise victims $500 if the victims send the scammers $50 through Cash App. Once the victim sends the money through Cash App, the scammer blocks the victim and keeps their money. Cash App policies have been said to give little recourse to victims in scams like this. Payments can often only be refunded if the person who receives the payment cancels the transaction.

More recently, the cash flipping scam has migrated from Cash App and onto other payment apps such as Venmo and Zelle. A Sheriff’s Office in South Carolina has recently warned residents there that the scam was finding victims. The Sheriff even said that it’s almost impossible to recover your money once it’s sent to a scammer, since transfers are made instantly, making it incredibly difficult to find the scammer.

As we always say, cash flipping is not a real thing. You wouldn’t give money to a stranger on the street who promised to invest it. So, why would you give it to a stranger on social media? It’s understandable that people in dire financial straits may be desperate enough to do anything to keep their heads above water. However, there is no true way to get rich quick, and if someone tries, they could find themselves in deeper financial trouble than before.