Posted on January 1, 2024
It’s a tough reality of living in a computer-driven world: scams will always find their way into popular technologies. Digital payment apps are no exception. With their use becoming increasingly a part of our everyday lives, knowing the steps for safeguarding your information and maintaining control of your money when using these apps is essential.
Use known, trusted apps
With new payment apps popping up all the time, it can be challenging to keep track of which ones are legitimate. If a friend or business is asking you to use an app that you’re not familiar with, take the time to research the service online and check reviews. If an app is trustworthy, you’ll find a lot of information available about it on the internet.
Know your recipient
Commit now only to send money to people, businesses, or organizations you know and trust. It’s extremely common these days for scam artists to contact people via text, phone, or mail requesting money through a digital payment app. There’s never any reason to respond to these types of requests. You can always contact companies or other entities you have dealings with, at a phone number you know to be correct, to ask if you owe them money. Odds are you don’t.
In some cases, fraudsters are even posing as government agencies and asking for past-due funds. Remember that government agencies—including the IRS—will never ask for an app-based payment.
If you get an unexpected request for money that looks like it came from someone you know, confirm with them that they sent you the request. It’s important to keep in mind that you shouldn’t use any contact information that may be included in the request to speak with the other party.
Check for errors
Some apps don’t allow you to cancel a payment once it’s sent. If you make a typo or select the wrong recipient from a list of search results, you may only get that money back if the incorrect payee does the right thing and returns your funds. It’s worth the few extra seconds to ensure you’ve got the right person.
You can also ask that the person receiving the money send you a request for the funds to avoid this kind of mishap.
Step up your device security
If you’ve got payment apps on your phone and your security game isn’t up to par, someone who steals or finds your lost phone can access the app and use it to send themself money from your account.
It’s recommended by data security experts that you use two-factor authentication on your phone in addition to strong, unique passwords on all your accounts to prevent these types of intrusions. If you’re comfortable with it, biometric authentication—like a thumbprint or facial scanning—is ideal for safety purposes.
Consider credit instead
Credit cards provide fraud protection that payment apps typically don’t. If a situation presents itself in which sending money via an app feels dicey, think about using a credit card instead. A credit card payment will likely be much easier to reverse if things go sideways.
Review your linked accounts
As a general security measure, reviewing all your checking and credit card accounts regularly is a sound practice—ideally, at least once a month. If security breakdowns are happening because of a payment app, the evidence is going to show up in the account you have linked to the payment app. By staying vigilant, you can react quickly to any suspicious activity.
Along the same lines, setting up transaction notifications for your payment app(s) is a good idea. With so many apps trying to send you updates and alerts, it can get more than a little tedious, but these are notifications you don’t want to miss.
Utilize the protection of credit cards
Speaking of your linked accounts, it makes sense to charge your digital payments to your credit card. As mentioned above, credit cards provide more recourse for fraudulent charges than debit cards. If you don’t have a credit card or don’t feel comfortable using one for these types of transactions, that’s fine. But it’s important to understand that foregoing credit could heighten your risk level.
Hold on to your phone
Some thieves are so brazen that they’ll ask to borrow your phone due to an “emergency” and then send themselves money using a payment app on your phone. Bottom line: don’t hand your phone over to anyone you don’t know. If they need to make an emergency call, you can dial the number and put the phone on speaker while they talk. This may seem awkward, but it’s better than losing thousands of dollars.
Take your time
Be aware of potential scams aiming to exploit your sense of urgency and pressure you into hasty actions. Fraud often thrives on rushed decisions, preventing you from critically evaluating the situation. If someone demands immediate payment through a mobile app, whether online or face-to-face, it’s crucial to consider the risks and prioritize your comfort and security. Always take the time to carefully assess any payment requests and consider the possibility of fraudulent activity.
Share sparingly
There’s no reason to believe digital payment apps are careless with your personal information more than other apps or websites. However, it’s wise to never provide more sensitive information—like birthdate, Social Security number, etc.—to an app than you need to. There’s no point in increasing your potential exposure.
We live in a world obsessed with multitasking and getting things done quickly. If you can, slow down and use caution with payment technologies. By taking these safety precautions, digital payment apps can be both safe and efficient.
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