AN urgent warning has been issued for Venmo users to enable face ID and a pin after one woman had $4,000 stolen by a young boy.
The costly incident, which lasted mere minutes, occurred on February 11 in Orlando, Florida.
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Shannon Fraser recounted her tale to WESH2, explaining how a boy who “looked about 12 years old” ran up to her asking for help.
The boy told Fraser his phone was dead and he couldn’t find his family or friends. He asked to borrow her phone to get in touch with them.
“Your first instinct is to help a kid,” Fraser told the outlet.
“Without thinking, and hindsight is 20/20, I just handed him my phone.”
The boy opened Fraser’s maps app. She was standing nearby watching as the boy borrowed her phone.
What she didn’t realize is that he had also opened her Venmo app and initiated transactions worth nearly $4,000.
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Two days after the encounter, Fraser received notifications that her two Venmo transfers had been approved.
“I stopped dead in my tracks,” she said.
Upon contacting Venmo, Fraser found the bank account the funds were transferred to had been set up less than an hour before the boy asked for assistance.
“I feel like this is the new pickpocket,” Fraser told WESH.
“They’re preying on your kindness as opposed to just stealing something from you.”
Venmo could not immediately be reached for comment. However, the company told WESH that while they are aware of similar incidents, they have not seen an increase in reports of this nature.
Fraser said the money had been credited to her account by Tuesday evening.
In response to the incident, Venmo users are encouraged to set up their face ID and pin if they’ve not already done so.
This is an added layer of protection against theft and incidents like the one Fraser experienced.
Venmo users can visit the app’s website for instructions on how to set up a pin, touch ID, and additional security layers.
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