Many online businesses allow customers to use Venmo as a convenient payment channel, especially on online marketplaces. Unfortunately, the ease and convenience of the platform’s payment processing make it a top channel through which scammers defraud people. 

Venmo only requires minimal information, such as an email address or a phone number, to process an instant transaction. This allows scammers near anonymity on the platform, helping them deceive victims into sending them money and get away with it.

Venmo business account scams are particularly popular among the tactics fraudsters use to commit payment fraud. In this article, we’ll explore the different strategies a Venmo scammer may use to manipulate a victim and ways to deal with the situation if you ever encounter one.

Identifying Venmo Business Account Scams—5 Popular Tactics

In Venmo business account scams, criminals usually target business owners, buyers, and sellers on online marketplaces. If you use Venmo for online purchases and payments related to your business, these are a few scams you could fall victim to:

1. Venmo upgrade to business account scam
2. Overpayment scam
3. Fake Venmo email or text scam
4. Upfront payment scam
5. Venmo fake invoice scam

Venmo Upgrade to Business Account Scam

In this scam, the scammer requests a fake business account upgrade fee to get money from the victim. To earn your trust, they first approach you as a regular buyer interested in a product. After asking to pay for the item, they send you a fake email from Venmo prompting you to pay an account upgrade fee to receive the pending payment.

In Beth Freebairn’s case, she tried to sell a chair on Facebook Marketplace for $50. The scammer contacted her to buy the chair but offered to pay via Venmo. She agreed and sent the fake buyer her email address but never received the payment. Instead, she got an email from a gmail.com address claiming to be a Venmo representative—the first red flag.

The fake Venmo email informed the seller that she needed to upgrade her personal Venmo account to a business account to receive the incoming payment from the buyer. The alleged buyer also contacted her, urging her to do as the email had requested. According to her, the buyer pressured her to pay the upgrade fee (another red flag), so she succumbed and lost $300 to the scammer.

Overpayment Scam 

In an overpayment scam, the scammer intentionally sends you more money than is required when making a purchase.

There are two ways they could do this:

1. With stolen funds
2. Via a fake payment request

In the first case, they may pay you with a stolen credit card and send more than the required sum. Paying with a stolen credit card means they don’t lose any personal money. They then ask you to send a refund of the excess amount to a Venmo account they provide. Once you do, they disappear.

When the owner of the stolen card reports it missing, they request a chargeback on the card for all unauthorized purchases. The amount the scammer initially paid you is deducted from your account, leaving you with a double loss. If you already shipped the item the scammer claimed to purchase, you could lose that as well.

If they don’t have access to a stolen card, the scammer may take an alternative route with a fake payment confirmation. They may send you a forged confirmation email indicating you were overpaid. For example, if the item was on sale for $100, the fabricated email may claim you received $1,000.

To corroborate the scam, the fake buyer will send you a screenshot confirming the overpayment issue and then pressure you to refund the excess amount. If you send the money without verifying that you received the payment in your Venmo account, the scam will be successful.

Fake Venmo Email or Text Scam

Email or text scams are popular phishing attacks where scammers pretend to be existing businesses, including Venmo. 

In this type of scam, you may get spoofed emails or texts from an address similar to Venmo’s. For example, the email address could have a domain like “vennmo.com” instead of “venmo.com.” The email may also contain branding like Venmo’s, including a similar design and logo, to appear legitimate.

The scam is further established in the content of the email or text. It’s usually an alarming message informing you of an account issue that Venmo would like to help you rectify or a special offer they want you to take advantage of.

For example, some victims have reported receiving a text that says Venmo detected an unusual login into their account from a different city. The message goes on to say, “Not you? Tap this link to sign in now.”

Usually, the provided link redirects the victim to a malicious website containing malware that could steal their login information. Alternatively, the website may direct the victim to contact customer support via the number provided, but the agent on the line is also part of the scam and will try to manipulate victims into sending money.

Upfront Payment Scam

Scammers may attempt to trick you into paying upfront to secure hard-to-find items or handle a business-related issue for you. Once you pay, the scammer disappears without sending the item or providing the service.

There are several scenarios when this type of scam might occur. They include:

Scenario	How It Happens
Business events	Tickets to highly popular business events, like live conferences, courses, and workshops, sell out fast and can become scarce within a few hours of release. This drives people to find various means to procure them, including buying from a stranger online. Venmo scammers prey on this need by listing fake tickets on online marketplaces
New product launches	Scammers may put up exclusive items for sale, usually at a discount. Knowing how fast sought-after items like updated software versions sell out after the launch, victims feel pressured to pay for them quickly—especially if the seller is offering a significant discount
Business loans	Bad actors may target small businesses in need of an urgent loan, promising to secure the necessary amount. Relying on their lack of experience, scammers often request an advanced fee from the business owners as an upfront payment for their services

When you indicate interest in these items or services, the scammer pressures you to make a deposit to create a false sense of urgency. They provide fake screenshots or counterfeit purchase confirmations to convince you they’re working on your case or sending you the item, but they never do. Once scammers receive the money, you’ll be unable to contact them.

Venmo Fake Invoice Scam

Scammers sometimes set up fake organizations and create Venmo business accounts under the organizations’ names. From here, they send Venmo invoices to unsuspecting victims, requesting payment for non-existent purchases. 

If the scammer doesn’t have access to a business account, they fabricate an invoice that looks just like a real Venmo invoice. They embed malicious elements, such as spoofed links or malware files, and encourage you to take their desired action. 

In another format, the scammer targets sellers offering to buy an item. When it’s time for the buyer to pay your business via Venmo, you receive an email with a fake invoice claiming that your incoming payment is on hold until you ship the item to the buyer. 

If you ship the product, you’ll never receive any payment because the Venmo invoice is fake. Venmo doesn’t hold payments while waiting for shipping confirmation.

Other Common Venmo Scams To Note

In addition to the above business account-related scams, there are many other ways scammers can get money out of victims, including:

1. Venmo refund scam
2. Venmo fake check scam
3. “Friends” asking for assistance scam

Venmo Refund Scam 

This scam relies on humans’ helpful nature to trick victims into doing a “good deed.” Also known as an accidental or “mistake” money transfer, the refund scam looks harmless at first. 

Here’s how it works:

• A scammer intentionally sends money to your Venmo account and then reaches out to you, claiming it was a mistake 
• Like most refund scams, the money came from a stolen card. They ask you to refund the money to a Venmo account they provide (usually theirs) 
• Not wanting to keep money that doesn’t belong to you, you send it back to the Venmo account 
• The problem is that the money paid into your account came from stolen property. Once the card owner reports the card missing, they could also request a chargeback 
• The money you refunded earlier is lost forever to the scammer’s account. When the money from the credit card is reversed, the amount is once again deducted from your account, leading to multiple losses

Venmo Fake Check Scam

This is another variant of the popular refund scam, but in this case, scammers offer to pay for an item by sending you a check. They usually indicate more than the amount needed for the item on the check and ask you to refund the excess to their Venmo account. 

Although the check might clear when you cash it, it will bounce a few days later when your bank discovers it’s fraudulent. You’ll have to return the payment to the bank, even after losing the refund to the scammer. 

“Friends” Asking for Assistance Scam

Sometimes, scammers hack into your close friends’ accounts and then impersonate them to trick you into giving them money. This is how it plays out:

The “friend” contacts you out of the blue, requesting a favor. They tell you they’re in some kind of emergency and need your urgent monetary assistance until they can access their account. 

Another twist to it is that a scammer may send you a Venmo request with a username that closely resembles your acquaintance’s and their picture in the profile. According to the Better Business Bureau (BBB), the Venmo money request may include an excuse such as a missing wallet as the reason for the request. 

These scammers target accounts of people you frequently make payments to on Venmo. This information is listed publicly on your Venmo profile, so anybody can use it to take advantage of you.

How To Report a Venmo Business Account Scam

If you think you’ve been scammed on Venmo, take the following steps to improve your chances of recovering your money:

1. Report it to Venmo ASAP—If the scam involves an unauthorized transaction, follow Venmo’s guide to report it. In case the scam involved an email claiming to be from Venmo, contact the anti-phishing team at phishing@venmo.com. For scam emails or texts from other persons, forward the evidence of the scam to support@venmo.com
2. Try to recover your money—Venmo’s Purchase Protection offers some hope for recovering your money. If you tagged your transfer to the scammer as “purchase,” you may be eligible to get your money back. Submit a ticket via the Venmo app through the “Get Help” section, or use this support ticket to file your complaint
3. Report to the police and your bank—You need a police report to dispute fraud claims, so visit your local police fraud department and report the scam. You may also need to inform relevant financial institutions, like your bank, about the scam. Ask them to freeze your account to mitigate further damage 
4. File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)—The FTC assists fraud victims dealing with an identity theft case. If you think the fraudster gained access to your sensitive information, report it to the FTC by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP or visiting its website

In addition to reporting the scam, take proactive steps to prevent falling victim to one in the future.

Prevent Venmo Business Scams With These Tips

While scammers commonly target Venmo business accounts, there are methods you can employ to safeguard your earnings. Use these tips to protect your financial assets better:

• Only use Venmo with people you trust. If you receive a message—whether from a stranger or a supposed acquaintance, verify their identity first before sending them any money
• Keep all your personal information safe. Never share sensitive information on your social accounts
• Create a unique password for all your financial accounts. Using the same password for all accounts can leave your accounts vulnerable if a breach occurs
• Activate all Venmo’s security and privacy features. Protect your account from unsolicited contacts or payments to keep scammers at arm’s length. Set up two-factor authentication on Venmo to make your account a bit more difficult to breach
• Protect your savings from account breaches by using a more secure digital savings platform like FortKnox to safeguard your business cash reserves