The Threat Doesn’t Start Where You Think It Does
Fraud and scams are increasing in both sophistication and scale, but they don’t begin on payments platforms like Zelle®. Instead, they often start with manipulative tactics from criminals, both foreign and domestic, who exploit Americans long before any money changes hands. These scams originate through phone calls, text messages, or online marketplace ads that mislead people into sending money under false pretenses.
The growing availability of generative AI is also making impersonation scams even more dangerous, enabling fraudsters to convincingly mimic the voices and identities of loved ones or trusted authorities.
How Zelle Protects Consumers
Since the launch of Zelle, more than 99.8% of payments have been completed without a report of fraud or scam. We’ve continued to improve our fraud and scam defenses, and today more than 99.95% of…
Inspect the sender’s actual email address—not just the display name—for subtle misspellings like “info@paypa1.com” or “support@nmb-bank.co” which indicate a spoofing attempt.