A woman recently sparked a discussion on TikTok after sharing her allegedly frustrating experience with digital payment service Zelle.
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In a video that has since garnered more than 142,300 views, TikTok user Nique Nashae (@niquenashae) explains how her attempt to return someone else’s money backfired.
“Every day I understand more and more why people don’t do the right thing,” Nashe begins.
what happened?
Nashe told how the incident began when she received an unexpected $100 bank transfer through Zell from an unknown person with a note that read “Gracias Carlos.”
“So I looked right away and thought I don’t recognize this name,” Nashe says in the video. “The note said ‘Gracias Carlos’ so I knew it was a mistake. I think so.”
She explained that she had had her phone number for over 15 years and had no idea how this money came to be hers. Still, she wanted to do the right thing and get her money back.
Following the proper channels, Nashe immediately called the bank. The representative told her to wait until the transaction was completed and then call back.
“It already seemed shady, ‘Why not buy a ticket now?'” she recalls, but followed their instructions anyway.
During that time, Nashe received phone calls and FaceTime requests from unknown senders. She ignored them, following her bank’s advice not to get involved in case of fraud.
When she called again the next day, she requested that the money be canceled and the sender refunded. “I know it’s not about me trying to do the right thing, right?” she says.
Her good deed backfireds
But a few days later, Nashe received an email from her bank informing her that her Zelle account had been permanently disabled.
“Naturally, when you call your bank, you’re like, ‘Hey…what’s going on?'” she says, explaining that she often relies on Zelle to transfer funds between accounts and pay bills.
When asked for an explanation, Nashe said she was told by both the bank and Zell that there was “nothing they could do.” Her bank allegedly claimed it had no control over the limits, citing Zelle as a third-party service.
Mr. Nashe said Mr. Zell gave a similar response, explaining that he did not directly investigate accounts associated with partner banks. The best guess she got from customer support is that the restriction may have been due to the original sender filing a fraud claim.
“When I literally called the bank not once but twice to get people to send the money back, my account was disabled as if I was committing fraud,” she says.
Frustrated and running out of options, Nashe ended the video with advice for others in a similar situation.
“Just keep the money,” she concluded. “If you want to know what to do if you find yourself in a situation like this, stick around.”
What do experts advise those in a similar situation?
Experts warn that if you receive an unsolicited payment from a stranger, it could be part of a scam.
keeper securityFor example, Zelle users suggest that they avoid engaging with senders, especially if they start demanding their payments back. By doing so, you may actually be putting your funds at risk.
Instead, they recommend not spending the money and contacting Zelle to safely reverse your payment.
Unfortunately, the Zelle scam become too common.
In one example, a Wells Fargo customer reported that a scammer pretending to be from her bank called her, accessed her account, and drained funds through Zelle.
Another user had a close call with the same trick, but he noticed the red flags in the nick of time and avoided the scam in the nick of time.
Viewer reaction
Those who commented on Nashe’s video asked several questions about her experience.
“So since the person claimed you were scammed, did you get your $100 back or did you not receive it?” asked one user. “I’m a little confused.”
Nashe spliced that comment into another comment. video To answer your question. She revealed that the payment remained in her bank account for only one day before the bank canceled it.
Others shared similar experiences.
“This happened to me too,” a user shared. “We had to wait 90 days to get Zelle back from the Navy.”
“Literally the same thing happened to me, hmm,” another wrote.
@niquenashae Very disappointed in Zelle and my bank.. 😔 #zel #scam #fyp ♬ Original song – Nike Nashe
The Daily Dot reached out to Nashe via email and TikTok message. I also contacted Zelle via email.
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