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On July 8, 2026, New York Attorney General Letitia James and a bipartisan coalition of 45 state attorneys general secured a $45 million settlement from Block, Inc. (Block), the company operating the peer-to-peer payments application Cash App, for misleading users and failing to protect them from fraud and scams. Block must pay $1.6 million in penalties to New York specifically. The investigation found that Block misled Cash App users through advertising that falsely implied the app provided bank-level protections for customer funds. Block claimed to possess "cutting edge" fraud detection technology despite lacking a consistent fraud detection system and had no functioning fraud hotline for users to report scams. The company knew fraud on its platform was rising sharply but prioritized acquiring new customers over strengthening protections. Cash App's account creation process lacked security measures—requiring no Social Security number or date of birth and imposing no limit on accounts per person—enabling bad actors to operate entire scam networks. Block's "Cash App Fridays" social media promotion encouraged users to publicly post their unique identifiers, which fraudsters exploited to steal login information. Additionally, the absence of a customer service phone line until 2021 led users to call fake numbers operated by scammers posing as Cash App support, resulting in account takeovers and financial theft. As settlement conditions, Block must maintain 24-hour customer support with live phone assistance at least 13.5 hours daily and live chat at least 18 hours daily. Block must cease false or misleading safety claims, discontinue fraud-promoting marketing practices, directly educate consumers about fraud types, and fulfill legal obligations to investigate fraud claims and reimburse users for unauthorized transactions. The settlement represents part of Attorney General James's broader efforts addressing online fraud, including prior actions against Zelle in August 2025 and cryptocurrency scams targeting New Yorkers.

On July 8, 2026, the New York State Attorney General, alongside a coalition of 45 other state attorneys general, announced a $45m settlement agreemen t with Block, which operates the peer-to-peer (P2P) payments application Cash App, for misleading users and failing to protect them from fraud and scams. The attorneys general determined that Block misled Cash App users through advertising that falsely stated that the application provided bank-level protections for customer funds, despite the it lacking a consistent fraud detection system and having no functioning fraud hotline for users to report scams. Furthermore, the attorneys general found that: Block was aware of rising incidents of fraud on its platform, but prioritized acquiring new customers over strengthening protections. Cash App's account creation process lacked security measures, requiring no Social Security number (SSN) or date of birth, and imposing no limit on accounts per person. Block's "Cash App Fridays" social media promotion encouraged users to publicly post their unique identifiers, which fraudsters exploited to steal login information. The absence of a customer service phone line until 2021 led users to call fake numbers operated by scammers posing as Cash App support, resulting in account takeovers and financial theft. In addition to its $45m financial penalty, the settlement terms also dictate that Block must: Maintain customer support services that can resolve fraud complaints, account lockouts and other problems. Offer live support 24 hours a day, with a real person available by phone at least 13.5 hours a day and by live chat at least 18 hours a day. Stop false or misleading claims about Cash App's safety and how it protects users from fraud. Discontinue marketing practices known to increase fraud on the platform. Directly educate consumers about common types of fraud. Fulfill its legal obligations to investigate fraud claims and reimburse users for unauthorized transactions.

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New York Attorney General Secures $45 Million Settlement from Block for Cash App Fraud and Misleading Users

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New York State Attorney General Announces $45m Multi-State Settlement with Block for Enabling Fraud and Misleading Cash App Users