If you live in the US and have a US address associated with your Google Pay, Google Pay Fraud Protection covers 100% of all verified unauthorized transactions. Your Google Pay information is safely stored on secure servers in a secure location, monitored 24/7 for fraudulent or unauthorized activity by our security team.
Only send money to people you know
The best way you can protect yourself from fraud using Google Pay is to make sure you know the person you’re sending money to. Scammers sometimes use online forums like Craigslist to accept money for goods (like iPhones, shoes, and concert tickets) and services.
Google Pay is mainly for sending money to friends and family and for small business transactions, usually between people who know each other. If you don't know the seller, we recommend that you pay the seller in-person and only after you've received the good or service.
Avoid buying online especially if the seller shows these suspicious behaviors:
- Refuses to meet in person
- Requires payment before sending the goods
- Sells digital goods
- Sells rare or sold-out goods
- Sells expensive goods at a very low price
Report suspicious activity within 120 days
If you think there’s been fraud or unauthorized activity on your Google Pay, contact us to report it within 120 days of the transaction date. We may also ask you for more information to determine if a transaction is covered.
Unauthorized transactions on other Google products
If you think there’s been fraud with other Google products (like Google Play, Google Drive, or YouTube), visit their help centers for more information.
Identify and report fraudulent Google Pay messages
"Phishing" and "spoofing" are fraudulent attempts to access your personal information.
- Phishing is when someone pretending to be someone else asks you for personal information.
- Spoofing is when someone fakes the identity of the email sender so it looks more trustworthy.
If you get a suspicious email, don’t respond with the information it asks for.
- If the message claims to be from Google, report the email.
- If you think you've been scammed, find out what to do next.
You can find more information about scams targeting Google Pay customers here.
How to tell if an email is suspicious
Check what information it asks for
If the email asks for any of the below information, it’s most likely fake.
- Usernames and passwords
- Social Security numbers
- Bank account numbers
- PINs (Personal Identification Numbers)
- Full credit card numbers
If you're still not sure whether an email is suspicious, err on the side of caution and avoid sending money or personal information.
Note: Real messages from Google might ask you to click a link to verify your email address. We won't ask you for any information until you've signed in to your Google Account. If we can't verify your Google Pay information, you might get an email from googlepay-noreply@google.com asking you to sign in and send documents that verify your billing details.
Find the real sender of the email
- In Gmail, click the drop-down next to the "Reply" button and click Show original.
- Make sure the "From" address and the "Reply-to" address match.
- Check that the address on the "Message-id" also matches the "From" address domain.
- If you don't use Gmail, ask your email host for details on how to verify a sender.