BELLEFONTAINE NEIGHBORS, Mo. — There's no worse feeling.
You look at your bank account and see money is missing.
The first thing many of us would do is call our bank.
But if you're using a digital payment app like Cash App, you may be about to walk right into a scammer's trap. It's a trap that cost one local Cash App user $3,000.
Cash App acts like a bank, holding your money and letting you transfer funds to friends or family easily.
The app has more than 15 million users. But unlike a bank, Cash App doesn't have any live customer phone support to call if your account is in trouble.
And that creates a golden opportunity for scammers to step in.
Declined. It's the last word you want to hear at the cash register.
Toni, who asked us not to use her full name out of fear for her safety, heard the dreaded 'D' word a few weeks ago when she tried to use her Cash App card at a car wash.
"Every time I used it, it declines it, and there's money on my Cash App," Toni said.
Toni said she was surprised to see there was no immediate way to contact Cash App.
"They don't even have a number on the back of the card you can call," said Toni.
So she went to Google and found a number that appeared to Cash App customer support.
The man on the other end of the 888 number asked for her phone number and then sent her a text. She was asked to read the numbers in the text message back. Toni isn't sure, but she believes that's how the scammers were able to infiltrate her phone.
"I had my phone in my hand and all of a sudden the first transaction they made is $398. And I said 'Whoa hold on here, why you trying to zap money out of my account?' They said 'Ma'am we're trying to fix the problem,'" Toni said. "I'm like, 'You don't have to fix the problem by zapping out $395. Can you identify it some other way?'"
Toni watched helplessly as the scammers drained her account in a matter of minutes.
"I was terrified. I was like 'Oh my god all my money is leaving my account'. And they just kept zapping. They did a total of 16 transactions."
And when she called the number back?
"He literally cursed me out and hung up."
The I-Team also called the 888 number but it is now out of service.
We did find several posts on the internet by other Cash App users who say they too called the same customer support number.
Toni lost $3,000 during that phone call, and she hasn't attempted to contact Cash App since.
"I'm just afraid now to make any phone calls now to any company because I'm afraid I might just get scammed again," said Toni.
We reached out to Cash App, and they're now helping Toni recover her $3,000.
But unfortunately for Cash App users, the company doesn't appear to have any plans to add a customer support phone line.
Similar apps like Venmo do offer live customer support Monday through Friday.
Cash App representatives referred us to this portion of their website for more information on how to spot and avoid similar scams.
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