A New York resident is in shock after two kids borrowed her phone to call their mom but used it to Venmo US$1,000 to a “business” account.
Yup, you read right. This isn’t your grandma’s gift card scam story.
According to the New York Post, Laura Grasso, 29, was taking a stroll in Central Park on July 30 when two children approached her.
The kids looked like they were under 10 years old. They said they were lost and needed a cell phone to call their moms. Out of the kindness of her heart, Grasso produced her phone immediately and let the children try and get in touch with their parents.
After a couple of minutes of using it, the duo left.
That was when Grasso received an email notification telling her that US$1,000 — just over CDN$1,300 — of her money had been transferred to an account by the name “Black Lives Matter” via Venmo.
The username was @BLM201 and it described itself as a “fun raising business” on Venmo. The account was likely not associated or affiliated with the Black Lives Matter movement.
Taken aback by what had just happened, Grasso told the police everything. They said she was the third person to report this exact story that day, but did not verify if other cases involved the Venmo account she mentioned.
Police first refused to file her complaint, blaming her for giving the kids her phone. Grasso said this made her feel “very unseen.”
Eventually, they opened up an investigation for petty larceny.
Upon looking into the case further, it appeared that the account was made by someone in Jersey City who had made 14 private transactions until the day before. No phone number was associated with it.
Grasso told the New York Post that she was scared about what else they could have done with her phone during the time, besides the Venmo transaction.
“I was in complete shock — utter disbelief,” said the Upper East Side resident, who’ll probably think twice before handing her phone over to strangers again.
Especially if they look like they just graduated from Grade 4.