Consumer complaint received 2022-01-09
Company: Square Inc
State: MA
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Virtual currency
Issue: Fraud or scam

Complaint:
XXXX XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX, a husband and wife, credible persons of lawful age, who being by me first duly sworn, on their oaths, depose and say : On XX/XX/XXXX and XXXX, XXXX, also on XX/XX/XXXX - Cyber Criminals posing as 'CashApp Customer Support ' did unlawfully and without our permission sell and withdraw XXXX  Assets totaling {$33000.00} USD without our consent, in pretense of verifying a linked account. 

CashApp Account Holder : XXXX XXXX CashApp Account ID : $ XXXX RE : XXXX Case No XXXX Testator 's Statement of Facts : On XX/XX/XXXX I, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX realized I'd misplaced my CashApp Debit Card , and so I ordered another one. The new card arrived on XX/XX/XXXX. To activate this new card, my wife and I decided to " talk to human beings ''. In order to ensure the old card was deactivated. We looked up the number on XXXX, and it came right up as XXXX XXXX XXXX. We then called this number. 
The customer support person, told us to QR Scan the code of the new card, which we did. He then said, " Your card is active, but your account needs to be verified. The First Scammer identified himself as " CashApp XXXX '' Employee Number : XXXX " He told us to go to XXXX to download " XXXX XXXX '' App. He explained that since CashApp was having so many scams, this was their new protocol for verifying user accounts. 

He logged on to XXXX and asked us to " accept his request ''. Please keep in mind, Medical Professionals have asked us to download applications so they could work with us remotely because of the pandemic. So " XXXX 's '' request didn't seem out of the ordinary. He came onto the XXXX XXXX application and was Immediately able to grab approximately {$12000.00} from our XXXX account. We, likewise, immediately, threw up a " Suspicious Activity '' flag inside of CashApp.

The fake CashApp Employee " XXXX '' was able to see the Suspicious Activity Flag we raised. At the time, we had no idea whether he was an actual CashApp employee in on the scam, or was he aware of because he could see what happened through the XXXX XXXX XXXX. In any case, he said the reason that he could not return the {$12000.00} in XXXX  right away was because we froze the account during the verification process. Now we would have to wait 24 hours for the flag to clear. He said that if we " did anything else to follow up with CashApp we could lose those funds '', because they were caught in a buffer caused by the Suspicious Activity Flag. He said he would call us back tomorrow and finish the verification process after the flag was removed from the account. We asked him what kind of problem could make this happen money getting " lost or stuck '' in the verification process, their cover story. ) He said it was a very big problem FOR America. All we knew for certain at that moment was that significant amount of money was taken by multiple foreign individuals with heavy accents. We could hear many other customer support persons ( all men ) loudly in the background saying the same things regarding the remote access program, and what was happening with the caller 's accounts. This is a well staffed outfit that had many phone scammers in one physical location. It sounded like a low budget call center, with several other support persons who were very audible to us, making it harder to hear what the person on the line with us was saying clearly. 

We should also note that on the first night of this occurrence, XX/XX/XXXX - the first " support person '' tried to get me, XXXX XXXX, to give him remote access to my XXXX Bank account. When I refused, this person remotely, literally scrolled through the apps on my phone, opened up my banking app and told me to enter my password because that's " where the refund had to go ''. We disconnected from remote access immediately at that point. Truthfully, we weren't at all convinced any of this was legitimate, but what felt we had no other options. We hoped that we were overreacting, and perhaps convinced ourselves that we were. 

On the evening of XX/XX/XXXX - I, XXXX XXXX, fell asleep early. Apparently there had been several calls from " XXXX '' that I'd missed. When I, XXXX XXXX, came upstairs to our bedroom I heard the phone ring. I answered the call, it was a CashApp " Supervisor '' named " XXXX '' wanting to " return our funds ''. I woke my husband and explained who was on the phone. 

I, XXXX XXXX, spoke with XXXX who instructed me to open the XXXX XXXX app so he could " finish the verification and return the $ 12,000.00USD taken from your XXXX  account ''. We voiced our concerns about the legitimacy of this whole process, and " XXXX '' gave us kind words of reassurance, stating that we had nothing to worry about. Eventually, we felt more convinced and complied. Obviously, we were completely taken in by " XXXX '' and all his kind words of reassurance because we had plenty to worry about. As he opened the account to " finish verifying it ', he drained the rest of it. Then he curtly informed us that they got {$31000.00} from our account. He disconnected and was gone. 
Truthfully, we are not sure that was the total taken, As the funds were in XXXX, they were subject to real time market fluctuations. When we add up all the legitimate withdrawals ( that aren't part of their shell game ), our total is {$33000.00} USD ( which includes another {$100.00} taken on XX/XX/XXXX ). 

On XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX AM We received another call from the scammers. This time a " CashApp Supervisor trying to regain remote access to the another account. When we told him that remote access was never happening again, he started yelling at us that we " couldn't do anything about it '', then hung up. It was new number with the same exchange. XXXX XXXX XXXX. The main Scam " Customer Support '' Number is XXXX XXXX XXXX. They also called us back from a variety of area code XXXX numbers. When we called some of these numbers back ( listed below ), a voicemail message said : " The 'TEXT MAIL ' subscriber you are trying to reach is not available ''. ( XXXX ) XXXX and ( XXXX ) XXXX and ( XXXX ) XXXX. We sent these details to the XXXX MA Police as they occurred, to document all that was happening. 

Evident from the " List of Unauthorized Transactions '', it was very much like watching a " XXXX XXXX '' swindle. Everything happened so fast - the CashApp transaction list times show just how fast it happened. It should also be noted that those times are listed in Pacific Daylight Time, but we experienced them all in Massachusetts ' local time, Eastern Daylight Savings time. We called the XXXX XXXX XXXX Attorney XXXX XXXX, who told us to file a report with our local police dept. 
On XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX PM we made contact with our local XXXX Police. and what their role was in the situation. We explained that we were trying to notify local law enforcement about a cyber crime - financial fraud / theft of {$31000.00} ( Amended Amount : {$33000.00} ) through a CashApp scam. We explained that we had filed a report with CashApp, and also filed a report online with the Massachusetts District Attorney 's XXXX XXXX XXXX. 

We also explained that the stolen funds were our house down payment - our landlord wants to sell the rental property we live in, located at XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX MA. We have been asked to move, so we are really in very bad situation The XXXX MA Police Sgt came on XX/XX/XXXX We gave him our information and told him what happened. Theft of {$31000.00} U.S. Dollars sourced from a XXXX  account ( Amended Amount : {$33000.00} ) by way of an insidious and widespread CashApp Scam, wherein the criminal parties impersonate CASHAPP customer support, after consumers having been directed to them by a XXXX XXXX response for : Cash App Customer Support telephone number. 

We have since come to understand that the SCAM Number is a paid Advertisement through XXXX ( which, in our opinion, makes them complicit ). There are web pages everywhere on the internet running this fake CASH APP customer support telephone number : XXXX XXXX XXXX. These look-alike pages contain both true information ( customer service available through the CASHAPP ) and false information ( Customer Support : XXXX XXXX XXXX ) so to the unsuspecting consumer, it appears to be legitimate information. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX PM We received another call from the same scammers, again we informed the XXXX Police. We also informed them that we'd heard from XXXX 'Mayor 's Office of Consumer Information ' ( MOCI ) who informed us that our case had been sent by the Massachusetts Attorney General 's XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX them to begin the preliminary investigation, which is the standard protocol. XXXX asked us to send a copy of the Police Report along with all our other documentation to them. 

Whilst trying to figure out the theft transactions, we noticed another {$100.00} was taken on XX/XX/XXXX. This happened because I, XXXX XXXX XXXX, had a recurring monthly bill that I usually paid from the CashApp Account. The creditor had tried several times to process the charge and it was declined for insufficient funds each time. So to cover that bill, I put {$100.00} from my now defunct XXXX  Checking Acct into the CashApp Acct. However, the thieves got to it before the creditor. The thieves bought {$100.00} worth of XXXX, and exported it to an undisclosed XXXX  XXXX. This confirmed to us that the CashApp account and any linked accounts ( in our case, XXXX  Checking, and XXXX  ), was forever compromised. Unfortunately, we did not err on the side of caution and the thieves grabbed more. 

We had to send a reminder message to our local police about the report. We explained that were waiting on the XXXX MA Police Report for this incident XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX. On XXXX XXXX, XXXX, An Officer came to our home to deliver the report to us. He told us the report was scant because the " feds are handling it ''. However, The report had no signature, so Officer XXXX came by our house on XX/XX/XXXX to sign the XXXX MA Police report. 

We dropped of most of the material to XXXX on XXXX XX/XX/XXXX. The Affidavit/Timeline is the last document sent to XXXX. We have managed to acquire a list of all Unauthorized Transactions from the CashApp Account, as well as the Event Log from the XXXX XXXX  app that was used by the XXXX Criminals to steal our funds. 

We are filing or have filed Fraud Complaints, along with all supporting documents, including but not limited to the agencies listed below : The FBI 's XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ), The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ( CFPB ), The Financial Justice Initiative Consumer Class Action litigation. XXXX v. Square, Inc. et al. FILED : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX ( Class action suit claims Cash AppXXXX XXXX, XXXX and XXXX Bank XXXX XXXX XXXX process for XXXX fraud violates the Electronic Funds Transfer Act ) LIST OF UNAUTHORIZED CASH APP TRANSACTIONS Re : XXXX Case No XXXX Account Holder : XXXX XXXX Account ID : $ XXXX 1 ) XXXX XXXX Payment to $ XXXX XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX PM Completed Amount XXXX XXXX Exchange Rate {$63000.00} USD Equivalent {$7000.00} Fees XXXX XXXX Source XXXX XXXX XXXX # XXXX 2 ) XXXX XXXX Payment to $ XXXX XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX PM For your protection, this payment was refunded Amount XXXX XXXX Exchange Rate {$63000.00} USD Equivalent {$1900.00} Fees XXXX XXXX Source XXXX  Balance Identifier # XXXX 3 ) XXXX XXXX Payment to $ XXXX XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX PM For your protection, this payment was refunded 4 ) XXXX  Sale XXXX XXXX {$5500.00} XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX PM Completed Sold XXXX XXXX Exchange Rate {$63000.00} Fee {$42.00} Total {$5500.00} 5 ) XXXX  Sale XXXX XXXX {$16000.00} XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX PM Completed Sold XXXX XXXX Exchange Rate {$62000.00} Fee {$120.00} Total {$16000.00} 6 ) XXXX XXXX Payment to $ XXXX {$2100.00} XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX PM Completed. 
Amount {$2100.00} Source Cash Identifier # XXXX Refund request declined 7 ) XXXX Purchase XXXX XXXX {$5000.00} XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX PM Completed Purchased XXXX XXXX Exchange Rate {$62000.00} Fee {$50.00} Total {$5000.00} 8 ) XXXX  Purchase XXXX XXXX {$10000.00} XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX PM Completed Purchased XXXX XXXX Exchange Rate {$61000.00} Fee {$75.00} Total {$10000.00} 9 ) XXXX  Withdrawal XXXX XXXX XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX PM Completed To XXXX ... tmaz Amount XXXX XXXX Fees XXXX XXXX USD Equivalent : {$1600.00} Blockchain Status Confirmed 10 ) Cash Out To XXXX XXXX Bank {$5100.00} XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX PM Completed Amount {$5100.00} Fee {$0.00} Destination XXXX XXXX 11 ) XXXX  Sale XXXX XXXX {$10000.00} XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX PM Completed Sold XXXX XXXX Exchange Rate {$60000.00} Fee {$77.00} Total {$10000.00} 12 ) Cash Out To XXXX XXXX Bank {$10000.00} XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX PM Completed Amount {$10000.00} Fee {$0.00} Destination XXXX XXXX 13 ) XXXX  Sale XXXX XXXX {$2200.00} XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX PM Completed Sold XXXX XXXX Exchange Rate {$60000.00} Fee {$29.00} Total {$2200.00} 14 ) Cash Out To XXXX XXXX Bank {$2200.00} XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX PM Completed Amount {$2200.00} Fee {$0.00} Destination XXXX XXXX *Add Cash ( authorized ) From XXXX XXXX XXXX {$100.00} XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX AM Completed Amount {$100.00} Source : XXXX XXXX XXXX 15 ) XXXX Purchase XXXX XXXX {$100.00} XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX PM Completed Purchased XXXX XXXX XXXX Rate {$60000.00} Fee {$2.00} Total {$100.00} 16 ) XXXX  Withdrawal XXXX XXXX XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX PM Completed To XXXX ... agFi Amount XXXX XXXX XXXX Amount : {$100.00} Fees XXXX XXXX XXXX Status Confirmed So say we, that all the facts contained in this affidavit are true to the best of our knowledge and recollection. No attempt to inflate, obscure, or omit any data or facts has been made in this affidavit. We, XXXX XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX, do fully attest to the verity of all information in this Affidavit. 


Square Inc . 
XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, CA XXXX ( XXXX ) XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation