ORMOND BEACH, Fla. – News 6 traveled to Ormond Beach to uncover a scam targeting online sellers using popular payment apps.
It begins with an innocent listing on platforms like Nextdoor, but can quickly turn into a financial nightmare.
Wayne Mott, an Ormond Beach resident, shared his experience. After posting an ad on Nextdoor to sell a sectional sofa and coffee table, he immediately received a message.
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“The person in the chat indicated that her husband would be in the area, and they were really interested and wanted to pick up the furniture that day,” Mott recounted.
The exchange continued through the app, and the buyer offered to pay upfront using Zelle, a peer-to-peer money transfer service often offered through your bank.
However, Mott then received an email claiming the payment was pending due to an invalid business account.
He was asked to send $500 to initiate the transaction, with a promise of a refund once the payment was processed.
“Immediately, an alarm went off in my head because Zelle is instantaneous,” Mott said.
The scammers even suggested he call Zelle to verify everything was fine and provided a number. Instead, Mott found a number for Zelle himself online, and they confirmed it was fraud.
The email address, upon closer inspection, was from teamzellepay1@gmail.com – clearly not legitimate.
Mott shared his story to raise awareness.
“I wanted to do this with you guys because I want people to understand how easy it is to get sucked in,” he emphasized.
Corie Wagner, a senior industry analyst at Security.org, explained that peer-to-peer payment schemes are common.
A survey conducted in 2024 found that 83% of people using payment apps experienced some form of fraud or attempted fraud, up from 68% in 2023.
“The onus of responsibility to make sure the transaction is secure is on the user,” Wagner noted.
To avoid falling victim to such scams, always verify the source of any payment requests, never send money to unverified sources, and contact your bank or the payment service directly to confirm any transactions.
Mott concluded, “I’ve never seen it with Zelle, so it’s important that people are really vigilant.”
Remember, don’t fall for the scheme, don’t get ripped off, but if you do, email me at lbolden@wkmg.com
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