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In a 2014 security audit, student researchers found weaknesses in Venmo’s apps and API, including flaws they said might let some attackers steal money. They also said they could not actually steal money using the exploits they found, though an SMS-spoofing attack might have made it possible. Separately, the FTC later alleged that account takeovers had led to unauthorized withdrawals. These are distinct historical findings, not proof that the same flaws can be exploited today.
What did the 2014 Venmo audit find?
Ben Kraft, Eric Mannes, and Jordan Moldow examined Venmo’s mobile and web applications and reverse-engineered the private API used by its apps. Their paper, Security Research of a Social Payment App, is dated May 14, 2014; the authors note that sections 1.3 and 5 were added July 7, 2014. They reported technical and social vulnerabilities, including privacy leaks and API or authentication weaknesses. Some issues, they wrote, could allow certain adversaries to steal other users’ money. The researchers said they disclosed the paper to Venmo before publication so its engineers could address the issues.
Finding a possible path is not the same as demonstrating theft
The paper’s conclusion is more qualified than the article title: “We were unable to actually steal any money with the exploits we found, although it may be possible to do with the SMS spoofing attack.” This was a controlled audit by researchers, not a report that they drained victims’ accounts. The authors identified a possible route involving SMS spoofing, but said they did not successfully use their exploits to steal funds.
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The FTC complaint describes a separate account-security problem. It alleged that until approximately March 2015 Venmo lacked sufficient safeguards for consumer information. Among the examples, it said users were not notified of certain account changes, such as password or email changes or the addition of a new device. The complaint further alleged that in some instances unauthorized users took over accounts, changed passwords and/or email addresses, and withdrew funds without notifying affected consumers. These are allegations in the FTC complaint, not the findings of the student researchers’ audit.
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What privacy-setting problem did the FTC describe?
The complaint also discussed historical transaction-audience controls. It alleged that the default audience and a separate sharing setting could produce different outcomes: the sharing control defaulted to Everyone, so leaving it unchanged could result in transactions being published even when a user selected Participants Only as the default audience. The FTC also alleged that another participant could make a transaction public retroactively in certain circumstances.
Those claims describe the interface and behavior addressed in the complaint. They should not be read as a description of Venmo’s current settings.
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Do the 2014 flaws still affect Venmo?
The cited historical paper and FTC complaint do not establish when each of the 2014 technical issues was fixed, nor do they independently confirm whether any specific issue remains exploitable. The researchers’ findings are evidence about the system they examined in 2014; they do not establish a present-day vulnerability. Venmo’s current security guidance describes protections and recommended settings, but it is first-party guidance rather than an independent retest of the old findings.
How can you secure a Venmo account now?
Venmo’s security guidance recommends enabling multifactor authentication and setting an in-app PIN. It says users can remove the session associated with a lost or unauthorized phone, and directs people who notice unauthorized activity to contact Venmo.
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- Enable multifactor authentication. Follow the account-security options in Venmo and complete the verification steps shown in the app.
- Set an in-app PIN. Use Venmo’s app-security settings to enable the PIN option.
- Remove a lost phone’s session. If a phone is lost or you do not recognize a device, use Venmo’s session controls to remove that session.
- Contact Venmo about suspicious activity. Use Venmo’s support route if you see a transaction or account change you did not authorize.
Venmo says it uses encryption and monitors activity to help identify unauthorized transactions. Its Trust & Safety information also describes password plus biometric or PIN-based sign-in, privacy controls, and phone-number verification when paying a new recipient. These are Venmo’s descriptions of its present-day safeguards, not independent validation of their effectiveness.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Does Venmo protect payments to sellers?
Venmo says the service is designed for payments among friends and people users trust, and warns that paying strangers for goods can be high risk. It says ordinary payments to strangers do not receive buyer or seller protection. Its Trust & Safety page describes Purchase Protection for eligible transactions when the user indicates the payment is a purchase; eligibility matters, so do not assume every payment qualifies.
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