Zelle's popularity is explained by the fact that it is easy to use, free and fast. But just because of these qualities, especially its immediacy, its users have become the perfect target for scammers.

Unlike other money transfer services that require the use of credit cards and take more than a day to complete, with Zelle the money transaction is immediate, and fraudsters love that, because once they trick their victims, they can strip them of thousands of dollars in a matter of seconds. The worst part is that this money can no longer be recovered without the banks' backing.

How is the scam carried out?

Generally, the method for carrying out this type of scam is always the same: the victim receives a text message on his cell phone with a "fraud alert" about a pending payment through Zelle, asking him to confirm or reject it.

If the victim denies the transaction, someone posing as a representative of the bank calls them on the phone. Be very careful because the caller ID appears to verify that it is, in fact, a call from the bank.

The imposter asks the victim to provide his Zelle account credentials to cancel the unauthorized transfer, and here's the catch: once the victim provides this information, the thief can easily withdraw the money from the victim's bank account.

This is why experts recommend again and again not to give information over the phone to anyone pretending to be a bank representative.