Venmo Scams?

[WatchesinSF]

I just lined up a sale for a cheaper watch, under $3k. The buyer asked for my venmo account and said the money would be deposited in a few days. For some reason, the "the money will be deposited in a few days" made me uncomfortable. I told him I would need references, a drivers license that matched shipping address etc. He said the drivers license was at a different address because of coronavirus. Quickly said he should be saving his money anyway and he was going to pass on the watch.

I have used venmo on smaller transactions, but usually face to face with a profile or references I can cross check. Do you guys use venmo at all? Or skip altogether?

[vinlesposito]

Do not use venmo for high value transactions. The platform was set up for convenient P2P transactions (i.e. paying your roommate for cable bills or splitting a dinner check) and comes with none of the protections that PayPal offers. I have had friends ripped off via Venmo for vintage motorcycle parts and basically been told by Venmo that they were SOL.

[WatchesinSF]

Originally Posted by vinlesposito

Do not use venmo for high value transactions. The platform was set up for convenient P2P transactions (i.e. paying your roommate for cable bills or splitting a dinner check) and comes with none of the protections that PayPal offers. I have had friends ripped off via Venmo for vintage motorcycle parts and basically been told by Venmo that they were SOL.

Got it. I passed on the sale and feel fine about it. Thank you.

[rolehex]

Originally Posted by WatchesinSF

Got it. I passed on the sale and feel fine about it. Thank you.

You did right here.