PayPal Encourages Consumers to Shop Safely and Avoid Common Scams This Holiday Season
As trusted leaders in consumer protection, PayPal and Venmo handle payment volumes representing a quarter of the world’s $6 trillion digital commerce. This holiday season, both new and existing customers will shop and pay through our platforms for gifts, essentials, travel, and more.
As bad actors attempt to take advantage of people during peak shopping seasons through common scams, we’re committed to keeping our customers safe and informed.
We do not tolerate fraudulent activity on our platforms. We use a combination of manual investigations and sophisticated technology to protect our customers, including taking proactive actions like limiting scam accounts or declining risky transactions. Both PayPal and Venmo also offer Purchase and Seller Protections that have terms covering eligible “goods and services” (such as apparel) when a transaction doesn’t go as planned.
Importantly, we firmly believe that spreading awareness of the latest common fraud trends and how to stop them is key to keeping the payments ecosystem safe for everyone. We actively partner with leading consumer protection institutions, such as the , , , and the Aspen Institute on this work, and we recently launched the campaign with the FTA.
We encourage you to stay vigilant and mindful when shopping and interacting online this holiday season. Keep an eye out for these common scams and learn about our tips to avoid them:
Invoice Scams: Bad actors send out fake invoices or payment requests, convincing people they owe money for items they did not actually buy in an attempt to access personal information and funds.
- Tip: Do not pay or respond to any unexpected, suspicious invoices or payment requests. Trust your gut and check your PayPal or Venmo account for any transactions or invoices you don’t recognize. Never call any listed phone numbers or click on any links from the invoice itself.
Charity Scams: Supporting important causes is especially popular during the holidays, and fraudsters will capitalize on this goodwill by posing as charities through cleverly crafted websites and social media profiles, tricking well-meaning people into making “donations.”
- Tip: Research organizations and be wary of aggressive tactics or sites lacking transparency. Verify the legitimacy of charities (typically federally registered or tax exempt) through the IRS and BBB, and donate through trusted channels like PayPal, which provides security plus coverage on transaction fees.
P2P Purchase Scams: Scammers connect with consumers through channels like online marketplaces and social media to offer fake deals on in-demand gifts (such as concert tickets) urging payment through peer-to-peer (“P2P”) or “Friends and Family” options on payment apps.
- Tip: Take advantage of Purchase Protection (available through PayPal and Venmo), which covers consumers at no additional cost on eligible payments for “goods and services.” Look for the “Turn on for purchases” button and click it before hitting the final “Pay” button in the apps. Because Purchase Protection does not cover “Friends and Family” payments, if someone urges against using it, that’s a red flag. Alternatively, focus on buying from verified business accounts and merchants.
AI Phishing Message Scams: Attackers gather personalized details from online sources (like social media) and use Generative AI to craft convincing, tailored text messages and emails that encourage clicking on phishing links, calling scam phone numbers, or otherwise solicit personal information and money from people.
- Tip: Beware of unexpected, urgent messages that ask for personal or financial information. These messages are often poorly written with attachments that may include malware as well as suspicious or scrambled URLs.
Evergreen Tips You Can Always Use:
- Stay up to speed on the latest fraud trends and methods to avoid them. Check out free educational resources from PayPal and Venmo.
- Trust your gut. If something seems wrong or is too good to be true, it probably is.
- Always use available Purchase Protection, which PayPal and Venmo offer for free to buyers.
- Only use “Friends and Family” payments for friends and family, or people you know and trust.
- Watch out for payment requests, particularly “urgent” ones from strangers, and always pause to think before acting.
- Never call any listed phone numbers, open attachments, or click on any links from unexpected messages.
- Do not respond to requests for personal or financial information, including account passwords.
- If you see something, say something. Report scams to law enforcement.
- When in doubt, reach out to verified support channels for help. Visit the PayPal and Venmo Contact Us pages or contact Customer Service directly through the apps.