Surprise Money in Venmo Account? Proceed with Caution!

Sometimes in our lives, we've all had the great pleasure of stumbling across some long-forgotten money tucked away in the pocket of a jacket, between the cushions of a couch, or even inside an old purse or wallet.

Even if it's only five or ten bucks, there's a small part of us that feels like we've won the world's smallest lottery.

But while that 'finders keepers' mentality works with small amounts of cash, it does not play well with modern technology.

Recently the Michigan Attorney General's office issued a consumer alert that impacts more than just the citizens of the Great Lakes State.

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It's all about payment-sharing apps, specifically Venmo.

The latest scam involves money 'accidentally' being transferred into a user's Venmo account, which is quickly followed up by a message from the 'sender' asking for the money to be returned.

Sounds like an honest mistake right?

Wrong!

It turns out that those funds likely came from a stolen credit card number which will eventually be flagged by Venmo as a fraudulent charge. That means the person whose card info was compromised won't be on the hook for the charge and neither will the scammer.

But the money you sent back to correct the 'mistake' will be gone forever and into the hands of the online crooks.

The best strategy to avoid this scenario is to contact the payment app directly to check on the validity of the transaction.

And always trust your gut.

Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it most likely is.