Vermont to receive $1.3 million from Cash App settlement over fraud claims

The settlement follows an investigation that Charity Clark's office worked on alongside attorneys general from other states.

Vermont is set to collect $1.3 million after a multistate agreement with Cash App tied to allegations that the payment service failed to stop fraud and overstated how well it protected users.

The settlement, announced Wednesday by Attorney General Charity Clark, follows an investigation that her office worked on alongside attorneys general from other states. In total, Block, Cash App’s parent company, will pay 46 states $45 million.

Clark said the case showed that Block had long been aware that scams were increasing on the platform but did not do enough to address them. She said the company also promoted Cash App in ways that drew in more users while leaving them exposed to fraud, even as it compared its safeguards to those of traditional banks.

The money Vermont receives will go into the state’s General Fund, according to Clark. Her office said it could not determine the total amount Vermonters may have lost through scams connected to Cash App.

The complaint filed by Vermont and other states says the app’s identity checks during account creation were too limited, making it easier for scammers to open accounts. It also says users had no live phone line for help, a gap scammers exploited by setting up fake support numbers that appeared in online searches.

Clark said the company was aware of that problem but delayed making phone assistance available for years. She also criticized a promotional effort called Cash App Fridays, in which users posted account tags for a chance at weekly prizes. According to Clark, scammers used that campaign to contact participants, falsely tell them they had won, and then take over their accounts.

Block did not admit wrongdoing in the settlement, according to court documents released Wednesday. Under the agreement, the company must provide 24-hour live customer support for fraud complaints, stop marketing practices that are known to increase fraud, and directly inform users about common scam tactics.

The resolution comes after a separate $175 million settlement Block reached with the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in January 2025 over similar fraud allegations. That agreement, announced during former President Joe Biden’s administration, required $120 million to be paid to users and $55 million to be placed in a government fund for harmed consumers.

A Cash App spokesperson said Wednesday that the company has invested heavily in consumer protection, customer service, and compliance for the millions of Americans who use the app for banking and credit needs. The spokesperson added that the company plans to keep investing in technology and operations aimed at maintaining a safe financial environment.