🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur.
A Cash App user in Tennessee saw her second stimulus payment disappear from her account in minutes while using the mobile payment service, which allows users to send and receive money.
On December 31, 2020, Kristina McClure, from Knoxville, noticed the $600 payment had vanished from her Cash App account, where it had appeared minutes earlier.
She told Knoxville's WATE 6: "Somebody named 'TrulyParadiseJJJ' asked for $600. So, before I could decline it, I was trying to see who they were. Like show me more information about this person.
"So, I hit [the] 'BACK' [icon]. When I hit 'BACK,' the money was gone. It gave me the balance of a dollar that I already had on my account," McClure recalled.
She added: "It's weird because it has never happened before. At least it gives you a chance to say 'Yes' if you want to send somebody that much money. I wouldn't give nobody $600. Not that much money because I could really use that money."
Due to the instant nature of mobile transactions, payments for most mobile services cannot be canceled. However, Cash App users can access a "request" button on the home screen of the app, which allows them to request funds back, something McClure was attempting to do at the time.
Cash App advises: "Every time you're sent a payment, it'll be logged in your Activity. To check your Activity (and locate a recent payment), tap the Activity tab on your Cash App home screen, then tap the payment you'd like to review to see its status.
"If you're sent a payment by accident, you can return the funds to the sender. To refund a cash payment, navigate to your in-app activity, tap the payment and tap Refund," the company notes on its website.
"If a payment is missing from your activity feed, it may have been sent to a different phone number, email address, or $Cashtag associated with you," the company adds.
"To locate your missing payment, users can tap the profile icon on the Cash App home screen, select the "Personal" icon and add any missing phone numbers or email addresses to claim their payment," the company explains.
McClure has since contacted Cash App about the latest incident.
"I've sent them the screenshot that I have of the person asking for it. And I've sent the screenshot of me saying no. And asking for it back. They asked for my legal name," she said.
The company was reported to be working with McClure to ascertain what might have transpired.
In a statement to WATE 6, the company said "preventing fraud is critically important to Cash App" and noted it is "constantly improving systems and controls to help prevent, detect, and report bad activity on its platform."
The company noted it is sharing information with its users about potential scams and "best practices" for dealing with scammers, fraudsters and phishing attempts.
Newsweek has contacted Cash App for comment and an update on the latest incident.
Last week, users of Intuit's TurboTax, the tax-filing software, were reported to be having issues receiving their second stimulus checks.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) noted at the time: "Because of the speed at which [the] IRS issued this second round of payments, some payments may have been sent to an account that may be closed or no longer active. By law, the financial institution must return the payment to the IRS, they cannot hold and issue the payment to an individual when the account is no longer active."
On Monday, Intuit advised: "According to the IRS, stimulus payments are expected to be deposited into bank accounts by the end of January. If you are a TurboTax customer in this group, we have sent you an email directly letting you know."
About the writer
Soo Kim is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. She covers various lifestyle stories, specializing in Read more