NEW YORK (PIX11) — New Yorkers are using money transfer apps around the world to make their lives easier, but New York City police say teens are scamming people out of thousands of dollars using apps like Venmo. I am warning you that you will be deaf.
Surveillance video shows the teens planning their next move near Bryant Park in midtown Manhattan. Police said the boys told the unsuspecting victim they were raising money for a basketball team and asked for donations.
“It pretends to be a basketball team, but when we investigated, there was no team,” said Sgt. Matt Doherty said. They are asking for donations for new jerseys and travel fundraising. Whatever it is. ”
No team is actually raising funds, and teens are telling victims that their school accepts Venmo, Cash App, or Zelle. The teens then demand the victim’s cell phone and ask them to enter their school information into the Venmo app.
“It’s a fairly unique crime, so the victim would open their phone without question and willingly hand it over to one of their children,” Mr Doherty said.
While distracted, the teens are accused of emptying the victim’s account.
“One of the suspects plans to transfer more than $5,000 from the victim’s Venmo account,” Doherty added.
The New York City Police Department is working around the clock to stop teenagers and is urging people to never hand over their cell phones to strangers.
“Venmo has a zero-tolerance policy for attempted fraud on our platform,” a Venmo spokesperson said in a statement provided by Venmo to PIX11. “If you suspect that you may be the target of a scam, or if an unauthorized transaction has occurred, please contact customer support directly for assistance in resolving the issue. Always recommended.