How to Safely Pay a Person

The use of digital payments continues to grow, and with issues like identity theft and other cybercrimes on the rise, it’s important to know what you can to do help protect yourself. Zelle® is a great way to send money securely to friends and family using the VyStar app. Make sure you use it only to pay people you know and trust.

Zelle and other digital payment apps should be avoided for people with whom you are unfamiliar, such as a stranger on the internet selling suspicious items from an unknown site. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Zelle doesn’t offer a protection program for authorized payments (like an online sales or online bidding), so only use Zelle and other digital payment apps to pay people you know and trust.

The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) advises:

• Never send money to anyone you don’t recognize.

• If you get a cash request from someone you do recognize, call or contact them using a number you know to be correct. Confirm they made the request before you send the money — even if you’ve sent them money through the app before.

• Read you bank statements closely and regularly.