Cash App's Payment Warnings Feature Helped Prevent Over $2 Billion in Scams

Cash App’s payment warnings feature reached a critical milestone—the in-app scam warning has helped protect customers from more than $2 billion* in potential peer-to-peer (P2P) payment scams since its launch in August 2020.

"Reaching this milestone demonstrates how our payment warnings serve as a critical first line of defense against scams for our customers," said Brian Boates, Block’s Risk Lead. "By alerting customers to unusual activity in real-time, we're empowering them to make informed decisions about their transactions."

"Cash App saved me from being scammed," says Edward C.**, a Cash App customer from California who nearly lost thousands of dollars to an online rental scam. "Cash App was ahead and stopped the money before it went through."

Edward had done his homework—he was able to view the apartment using a key the "landlord" had hidden outside, and she even sent him what appeared to be legitimate identification. But when Edward tried to send the $3,500 rental deposit, Cash App's security system detected risk signals and immediately flagged the payment as a potential scam.

The warning allowed Edward to pause and do some more research. "The neighbor saw me outside and said the lady I was communicating with wasn't the owner. Then the actual owner came back and told me he didn't know this woman," Edward explained. "I'm glad Cash App caught this before anything happened. I trust the service—it's simple to use but really secure."

Cash App’s systems are designed to analyze every P2P payment in real-time. The system uses AI & machine learning to evaluate over hundreds of risk factors, which support the identification of potentially suspicious transaction patterns and account behaviors.

Based on these evaluations, the system may temporarily block the payment and display a warning to the customer. From there, the customer may either cancel or continue with the payment. Cash App will also investigate potentially suspicious accounts and take additional actions as necessary.

“Stories like Ed's show why we've built these defenses—from analyzing hundreds of risk factors to giving customers that critical moment to double-check their payment,” said Boates. “It’s about creating multiple layers of protection before it’s too late. Once sent, payments can't be canceled and often can’t be recovered, which is why prevention through early intervention is so critical.”

Today's milestone comes as consumers face increasingly sophisticated scams across the financial services industry. Cash App's data shows common scams include:

• Rental and purchase scams : Fake listings for apartments, cars, and expensive products
• Impersonator scams: Pretending to be friends, family or businesses on social media, where scammers trick people into thinking they’re talking to a real person or business
• Romance scams : Long-term relationship building on social media followed by requests for money
• Giveaway scams: Promises of big payouts, usually for a small fee. These common scams often come from an email or social media post promising a limited-time giveaway of cash or expensive products

Payment Warnings are just one way Cash App helps customers keep their money safe. We also provide additional protection with:

• Security alerts: Customers receive notifications when unusual activity is detected on their account
• Privacy Controls: Customers can choose who can request money from them—even limiting it to just their contacts. They can also limit how others can find them—by name, phone, or email
• Extra security: Cash App has multiple two-factor authentication options that customers can enable to unlock the app and send money, including fingerprint, face, or PIN authentication.
• Real-time notifications: Instant notifications can also be enabled, keeping customers informed of their money movements in real-time
• Advanced protection: In some cases, Cash App's security system may automatically block high-risk transactions, notifying the customer of the cancellation
• Scam alerts & resources: Cash App shares the latest information on common scams and safety tips on social channels and help pages, so customers know what to watch out for

For more security tips and features, check out cash.app/security.

*The $2 billion reflects the minimum dollar amount of highly probable payment scams Cash App prevented where customers did not complete the payment due to our scam warning since August 2020.

**A real Cash App customer who received compensation in exchange for sharing his experiences.