Some banking scams to watch out for

CHICO — I want to start by saying that I appreciate a lot of the money apps we have now.

I ended up going to a Pride event on Saturday and was able to easily buy things and split payments with friends for lunch with Venmo and it just made life way easier. What I don’t appreciate is how many scams have been born from these conveniences.

I’ve already been hearing from my friends that their phones are being blown up with banking scams and texts from folks claiming to be with Venmo or CashApp. Even Wells Fargo is issuing warnings about fraud scams, so let’s break some of them down.

The first is a text or email telling you that you were overpaid and that you need to send money back. The good thing about this scam is that it is generally obvious. Chances are this text is coming from a number you don’t recognize and to make it even dumber, the scammer will ask for a wire transfer or cryptocurrency — which is hilarious to me because anyone would see that and say “uh yeah no.”

Not the strongest scam from what I’m guessing is a person who doesn’t have the strongest of minds.

It’s also possible that the scammer asks for you to cash a check for them. This one is an old scam that I remember getting a lot when I started college. It’s kind of like that old Nigerian Prince cliche. Feel free to ignore these completely as well.

For an honorable mention, and just because I noticed it when reading the warning from Wells Fargo, I guess there is a scam going around where someone texts you that you’ve won a prize but you have to pay to receive it. Someone should send a dictionary to the person who came up with that scam so they can look up key words like “won” and “prize.”

Stay safe out there folks and don’t forget to hydrate. Summer is hitting like a brick this year.

Scam of the Week generally runs every Tuesday. Readers are welcome to contact reporter Jake Hutchison to report scams and potential scams they have come in contact with by calling 828-1329 or via email at jhutchison@chicoer.com.