Consumer complaint received 2025-10-15 00:00:00
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — Mobile or digital wallet
Issue: Fraud or scam — 
Company: Block, Inc.
State: NY

Complaint narrative:
b'To:\nConsumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)\nDate: XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXCash App Cashtag: XXXX\nSubject: Formal Complaint: Gross Negligence and Regulatory Failures by\nBlock, Inc. (Cash App) Resulting in Fraudulent Loss of XXXX\nRe: Complaint Against Block, Inc. (dba Cash App) XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXnTo Whom It May Concern,\nI am writing to file a formal and detailed complaint against Block, Inc., operating as\nCash App, a regulated Money Services Business, for its profound and repeated failures\nto protect me, its consumer, from a sophisticated fraud scheme. These failures\nconstitute gross negligence, a complete breakdown of its legally mandated anti-fraud\nand anti-money laundering (AML) obligations, and a violation of federal consumer\nprotection laws.\nAs a direct result of Cash App\'s inadequate security protocols and nonexistent customer\nsupport, I have suffered a devastating financial loss totaling over XXXX, comprising\nXXXX  in direct peer-to-peer transfers and approximately XXXX XXXX XXXX\ntransfers, all of which were sent to fraudulent actors.\nDespite filing a formal dispute with Cash App on XXXX XXXX XXXX, I have received no\nsubstantive response, no assignment of an investigator, no case number, and no\nresolution. My funds have not been recovered, and Cash App has demonstrated a\ncomplete disregard for its duties as a financial intermediary. After receiving no response\nfrom Cash App, I filed a complaint with the XXXX XXXX  State Department of Financial\nServices (XXXXDFS) on XXXX XXXX XXXX, which has also not resulted in a resolution. I am\nnow turning to the CFPB for immediate intervention and assistance.\nDetailed Chronology of the Fraud:\nBetween [Insert Start Date, XXXX] and [Insert End Date, XXXX], I was targeted and\nsystematically deceived by a criminal organization operating under the fraudulent\ninvestment name "Blueprint Trade." The perpetrators posed as licensed financial\nbrokers and investment managers, creating a facade of legitimacy to gain my trust. They\nmanipulated me into transferring significant funds under false pretenses, using Cash\nApp as their primary vehicle for extracting funds due to its speed and, evidently, its lax\nsecurity.\nThe scheme involved two methods of transfer: direct Cashtag payments to various\nindividuals who acted as money mules, and the transfer of XXXX  from my Cash App\nwallet to external, anonymous wallets controlled by the scammers.\nIrrefutable Evidence of Fraudulent Transactions:\nThe following is a detailed, itemized list of the fraudulent transactions that Cash App\nfailed to flag, question, or prevent. The pattern of high-frequency, high-value payments\nto multiple, disparate accounts followed by cryptocurrency withdrawals is a textbook\nindicator of fraud that any competent financial institution should have detected.\nA. Fraudulent Cashtag Transfers (Total: XXXX)\nA total of XXXX was sent via direct Cashtag payments to four separate individuals who\nwere clearly operating as part of the fraudulent network.\nRecipient 1: XXXX XXXX (XXXX)\n Transaction 1: XXXX\n Transaction 2: XXXX\n Transaction 3: XXXX\n Transaction 4: XXXX\n Transaction 5: XXXX\n Sub-Total: XXXX\nRecipient 2: XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX\n Transaction 1: XXXX\n Transaction 2: XXXX\n Transaction 3: XXXX\n Sub-Total: XXXX\nRecipient 3: Aurora (XXXX)\n Transaction 1: XXXX\n Transaction 2: XXXX\n Transaction 3: XXXX\n Transaction 4: XXXX\n Transaction 5: XXXX\n Transaction 6: XXXX\n Transaction 7: XXXX\n Sub-Total: XXXXnRecipient 4: XXXX  (XXXXXXXX)\n Transaction 1: XXXX XXXX XXXX Fraudulent XXXX Transfers XXXX XXXX XXXXnIn addition to the cash transfers, I was instructed to purchase and withdraw XXXX  to\nexternal wallets. Cash App facilitated these high-risk transactions to unvetted,\nanonymous addresses without any enhanced verification or fraud warnings. The wallet\naddresses themselves are evidence of the criminal enterprise.\nKnown Fraudulent Recipient Wallet Addresses:XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  And others as documented in my transaction history.\nCash App\'s Specific Failures and Regulatory Violations:\nCash App\'s role was not merely passive; its platform\'s deficiencies and its company\'s\nnegligence were active enablers of this fraud.\n1. Failure of Fraud Detection and Prevention:\nThe pattern of transactions exhibited numerous red flags that a responsible financial\ninstitution is obligated to detect:\nVelocity and Pattern:\nA sudden increase in the frequency and monetary volume of transactions.\nMultiple Counterparties:\nPayments were directed to multiple, previously unknown individuals in rapid\nsuccession.\nHigh-Risk Activity:\nThe combination of large peer-to-peer payments immediately followed by the purchase\nand withdrawal of cryptocurrency to external wallets is a widely recognized indicator of\nscams and money laundering. Cash App failed to apply any holds, issue any warnings, or\nrequire any additional verification, thereby failing its most basic duty to safeguard\nconsumer accounts.\n2. Violation of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) and Regulation E:\nRegulation E establishes the rights and responsibilities of consumers and financial\ninstitutions for electronic fund transfers. By failing to meaningfully investigate my\ndispute filed on XXXX XXXX XXXX, Cash App has violated its obligations to promptly\ninvestigate and resolve errors and unauthorized or fraudulently induced transactions.\nTheir complete silence is an abdication of their responsibilities under federal law.\n3. Violation of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and AML/KYC Obligations:\nAs a Money Services Business registered with FinCEN, Cash App is required to maintain\na robust Anti-Money Laundering (AML) program. This includes monitoring\ntransactions to identify and report suspicious activity. By allowing thousands of dollars\nto be sent to a network of individuals and then funneled into anonymous external\ncryptocurrency wallets, Cash App effectively acted as an unregulated bridge for a\nmoney-laundering operation. It is highly probable that Cash App failed to file the\nrequired Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) for these transactions.\n4. Unfair and Deceptive Practices (FTC Act):\nCash App markets itself as a safe, modern, and simple way to handle personal finances.\nHowever, its safety and security measures are demonstrably inadequate, and its\ncustomer support for fraud victims is nonexistent. This discrepancy between its\nmarketing and its actual practices is a deceptive act that harms consumers and violates\nthe principles of the FTC Act.\nRelief Requested:\nGiven the egregious nature of Cash App\'s negligence, I demand the following actions be\ncompelled by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau:\n1. Full Financial Restitution:\nI request that the CFPB order Block, Inc. (Cash App) to provide a full and\nimmediate refund of all funds lost to this fraudulent scheme, totaling XXXX,\nplus the equivalent USD value of the transferred XXXX  at the time of each\ntransaction.\n2. Formal Investigation:\nI urge the CFPB to launch a full investigation into Cash App\'s internal fraud\ndetection algorithms, AML compliance procedures, and customer dispute\nresolution processes. It is clear from my experience that these systems are\nfundamentally failing to protect consumers.\n3. Compelled Response:\nI request that the CFPB compel Cash App to provide a complete and transparent\nexplanation for their failure to detect this clear pattern of fraud and their\nsubsequent failure to respond to my formal dispute.\n4. Public Enforcement Action:\nI request that the CFPB take public enforcement action against Block, Inc. to hold\nit accountable and to ensure that it implements meaningful changes to its\nplatform to prevent countless other consumers from falling victim to similar\nschemes.\nI have meticulously documented all related transactions with screenshots and am\nprepared to provide them, along with all communications with the fraudulent actors, to\naid in your investigation. Cash App\'s failure is not a simple customer service issue; it is a\nsystemic breakdown of its legal and ethical duties as a financial institution.\nI trust that the CFPB will take this complaint with the seriousness it deserves and will\nact decisively to protect consumers from such predatory and negligent corporate\nbehavior.\nSincerely,\nXXXX XXXX XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation