Block Pays $45 Million to Settle 46-State Probe Into Cash App Fraud Protection and Resolution

Block will pay $45 million to settle allegations from 46 states that the company misled consumers about the safety of its peer-to-peer payments app, Cash App, and failed to provide the fraud protection and resolution required by law.

The investigation was led by Oregon and Texas, the Oregon Department of Justice said in a Wednesday (July 8) press release. The states alleged that Block falsely implied that Cash App offered the same protections as a bank, that Block made it easy for fraudsters to create accounts by requiring minimal identity verification to sign up for the app, that Cash App had no phone support for years and didn’t warn users that scammers were posting fake numbers and posing as Cash App, and that Block continued running a social media promotion that it knew was being used by fraudsters to trick users into handing over their login information, according to the release.

The settlement requires Block to maintain customer support that can resolve problems, offer live phone support 24 hours a day, stop making false or misleading claims about Cash App’s safety and fraud protections, discontinue marketing practices that are known to increase fraud, educate consumers about fraud, and fulfill its legal obligations to investigate fraud claims and reimburse users for unauthorized transactions, per the release.