Attorney General Kathy Jennings, together with her counterparts in 45 states, today announced a $45 million multistate settlement with Block, Inc., formerly known as Square, Inc., the company behind the popular peer-to-peer payments app Cash App. The settlement resolves allegations that Block violated state consumer fraud and deceptive practice laws by misleading consumers about the safety of Cash App, failing to protect users from fraud on the platform, and failing to provide the fraud protection and resolution that it promised and that was required by law. In short, the company failed to help people when things went wrong. 

“The strong results achieved in this case are but one example of our office’s ongoing efforts to combat fraud against Delaware consumers in the face of rapidly emerging new financial technologies,” said Attorney General Kathy Jennings. “We are working tirelessly to provide meaningful oversight that keeps pace with new technologies without stifling innovation.” 

Block told Cash App users that their money was safe – implying that the app worked like a bank and with the same protections, which wasn’t true. At the same time, Block knew fraud on its platform was rising sharply – and instead of warning users or strengthening protections, it doubled down on marketing. 

For years, Block actively promoted direct deposits of paychecks and government benefits into Cash App. It made a particular push to reach unbanked and underbanked consumers – people who would often rely on Cash App as their primary financial account, and who were especially vulnerable to fraud. Block grew its user base without making sure it could support those users when problems arose. 

Block’s policies didn’t just fail to stop fraud – in several ways they made it easier: 

• Block’s sign-up process was designed to be fast and frictionless, with minimal identity verification. That made it easy for fraudsters to create accounts, not just legitimate users. 

• For years, Cash App had no phone support. Users who needed help could only message through the app or on social media. People who got locked out – or just wanted to talk to someone – searched online for a phone number and often ended up calling fake 1-800 numbers run by scammers posing as Cash App. Those scammers would then take over accounts or drain users’ other financial accounts. Block knew this was happening and didn’t warn users or set up a real phone line until years later. 

• Block ran a social media promotion called Cash App Fridays, encouraging users to publicly post their $cashtag – a unique Cash App identifier – for a chance to win a weekly prize. Fraudsters would then contact those users, tell them they’d won, and trick them into handing over their login information. Block knew about these scams and kept running the promotion anyway, for years. 

Block’s failure to provide adequate customer service and to fulfill its promise to protect users from fraud had dire consequences for people. Innocent users who experience automated account locks for suspicious transactions were frequently locked out of their accounts for weeks without a way to access their money. Victims of fraud through the app were often left with no recourse, as delays made it impossible to get stolen money back from scammers and because Block failed to investigate unauthorized transactions and failed to issue refunds when required by law. 

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