You sent money on Venmo and it turned out to be a scam. The person disappeared, blocked you, or the item never showed up. Now you’re staring at a completed transaction wondering if there’s anything you can do. The short answer is yes — but it depends on how fast you move and what kind of payment it was.
Waiting and hoping it resolves itself? That makes it worse.
This article will cover 11 steps to take if you got scammed on Venmo, starting with the ones that matter most right now.
1. Stop All Communication With the Scammer
Don’t send follow-up messages, don’t threaten, don’t negotiate. Some scammers use continued contact to manipulate you into sending more money — “send another $20 and I’ll ship your item right away.” Block the account and move to the next step. Anything you say to them won’t help you and might hurt your case with Venmo support.
2. Open a Dispute Through the Venmo App Immediately
Go to the transaction in your Venmo history, tap it, and look for the option to report a problem or get help. The faster you file, the better your chances. Venmo has time limits on disputes, and the earlier you flag the transaction, the more likely they are to take action against the other account before the scammer withdraws the money.
3. Check If the Payment Was Made Through a Purchase-Protected Transaction
Venmo offers purchase protection on payments made to authorized business profiles through their official checkout flow. If your payment qualifies, you may be eligible for a full refund. Person-to-person payments between individual accounts? No purchase protection. This is why scammers always want you to pay through a personal profile instead of a business checkout.
4. Contact Venmo Support Directly
Use the in-app support option or email support@venmo.com. Explain what happened, include the transaction details, and be clear that this was a scam — not a dispute between friends over who owes what. Venmo’s team handles fraud cases differently from personal disputes. The more specific you are about what happened, the faster they can investigate.
5. If You Paid With a Linked Debit or Credit Card, Contact Your Bank
If the Venmo payment was funded by a debit card or credit card (not your Venmo balance), you may be able to file a chargeback through your card issuer. This is a separate process from Venmo’s dispute system. Banks are often more responsive to fraud claims than payment apps. Call the number on the back of your card and explain the situation — they’ll walk you through the chargeback process.
Read also: More payment security tips
6. Take Screenshots of Everything
Screenshot the transaction, the scammer’s profile, any messages exchanged, and any related texts or emails. Do this before the scammer deletes their account or changes their profile information. These screenshots are evidence you’ll need for Venmo support, your bank’s chargeback process, and any law enforcement reports. Save them somewhere you won’t lose them.
7. Report the Scammer’s Account to Venmo
Separately from your payment dispute, report the scammer’s profile. This helps Venmo flag and freeze the account, which may prevent them from scamming other people. It also creates an internal record that supports your dispute. Go to the scammer’s profile, tap the three dots, and select “Report.”
8. File a Report With the FTC
Go to reportfraud.ftc.gov and file a complaint. The FTC doesn’t resolve individual cases, but they track scam patterns and use the data to take action against large-scale fraud operations. It takes about 10 minutes and creates an official record of what happened to you. This report can also be useful if you file a police report later.
9. File a Police Report If the Amount Is Significant
For larger amounts, file a report with your local police department. Most departments have an online portal for non-emergency reports. You probably won’t get a detective assigned to a $50 Venmo scam, but the report creates a paper trail that can support insurance claims, bank disputes, and identity theft cases down the line.
10. Check for Signs of Identity Theft
If the scam involved you giving up personal information — your login credentials, Social Security number, or bank details — the payment itself might not be the only problem. Check your bank accounts for unauthorized transactions, run a free credit report at annualcreditreport.com, and consider placing a fraud alert on your credit file. The Venmo scam might have been step one of a bigger theft.
11. Change Your Venmo Password and Enable Two-Factor Authentication
Even if the scam didn’t involve your login credentials directly, change your password anyway. If you used the same password anywhere else, change those too. Turn on two-factor authentication in Venmo’s settings so that any new login requires a code sent to your phone. This step takes two minutes and prevents the next scam from being even worse.
Will You Get Your Money Back?
It depends. Purchase-protected transactions and credit card chargebacks have the best odds. Person-to-person payments funded by a Venmo balance have the worst. But filing every report — Venmo, your bank, the FTC — gives you the best possible chance, and at minimum, it stops the scammer from doing the same thing to the next person.