Cash App is an application used to send and receive money, especially among family and friends, for everyday situations. And although it is very useful and straightforward, it is possible to receive money from a random or unknown person.
But why would this happen? Well, it could be for different reasons, from someone simply using the wrong username to an attempted scam.
In any case, you must be informed about what to do if it happens to you. For your convenience, this article will address each possible situation and how to proceed, so keep reading!
Some explanations
1. Someone made a mistake with the recipient’s details
When making transfers to other people, it is very common to have a typing error in the recipient’s information, especially in Cash App, where you only need the Cash Tag (username) or phone number to carry out the transaction.
In consequence, it is possible that the money you received was actually intended for someone else, and there was a mistake.
What should you do?
If you are 100% sure that the money is not for you, you can simply take their username and refund the amount to the same person. You can even leave a message in the “Issue” part and write: “Wrong User, here is the money back”.
2. Someone sent you money through a third party
Suppose you have a friend or acquaintance who owes you money but does not have a bank account and cannot give it to you in cash. In that case, he may have asked a third party -who does have a Cash App account- to transfer the same amount to you and receive the cash in exchange.
What should you do?
First, check through your finances if you recently lent money; if you have someone in mind and the amount is the same as what you received, make a call and ask if it was from them.
If it is correct, you can leave things as they are. If it is incorrect, repeat the previous advice and return the money to the person who sent it to you.
3. It is a scam
This is the most severe case of all. Since it is a relatively simple app, it is also very attractive to scammers.
In most cases, you can recognise scams because the amount of money received is very unusual. It is not the same to receive $20 by mistake as $2,000, right?
If it is a small amount, you can follow what was said in case 1 and make a refund. However, if the amount is high and the Cash Tag also looks suspicious, you should do the following:
Refund the money to the same user and block them immediately. If it was a mistake, you have nothing to lose; and if it was indeed a scam, you just saved yourself from further attempts. This way, you can avoid any type of connection with this person.
- On the other hand, if the amounts you receive are small, but it has happened many times, it is still advisable to block the person.
Contact Cash App Support. You can only do this directly in the app or on the cash.app/help page. Do not trust any phone number you find on the Internet.
- In the app, go to your profile and select “Support”.
- Select the “Something Else” option.
- You will now see a menu with various options. You can select “Receiving a Payment”, but this will not help as it will only explain how to receive payments. In these cases where you need to contact an app representative, select “Can’t Access Old Account”.
- Now, click on the “Contact Support” button and then “Email”. This is the fastest way to get a direct email from someone from Cash App.
- Once you do, the “Describe Your Issue” form will appear on the screen. Type in a description, explaining what happened, and that’s it. They will receive it and contact you with an answer.
Is it really necessary to return the money?
You may think that if the amount you received in Cash App is small, there would be no problem keeping it. But no, it is not recommended because if it was a mistake, the sender could request “disputing a charge”, and Cash App will take the money from you. How does this work?
When making a payment in Cash App, the money is transferred almost immediately. Therefore, the app offers the “disputing a charge” feature in error cases.
Suppose the person who “made a mistake” chooses this option and it is accepted. In that case, Cash App will automatically withdraw the money from your account to return it to the original account.
And in the worst circumstance, if your account does not have enough funds, your balance will go negative, and you will have a new debt.