Menu

Common Bizum scams and how to avoid them

Bizum's real design (it's a payment instruction, not a way to charge someone remotely) and the marketplace/refund tricks that abuse how little most people understand about it.

By AlertaSpam Security Team. Published August 7, 2026

Bizum only lets someone request a payment from you — they can never pull money out of your account without you actively approving the request yourself. Most Bizum scams work by tricking you into approving a 'refund' request that is actually a payment request in disguise.

Warning signs

  • A buyer on a classifieds marketplace claiming they 'accidentally' sent you a Bizum payment and asking you to send it back — what actually landed in your app is a request, not a completed payment.
  • Any Bizum notification asking you to approve or confirm something, when you were expecting to simply receive money.
  • Pressure to act fast because the 'buyer' supposedly needs the item shipped urgently.
  • A request that doesn't match the amount or context you agreed on with the other person.

Step-by-step

  1. Before approving any Bizum action, read the screen carefully — a payment you're receiving never requires you to approve anything.
  2. If you see a request instead, that means money would leave your account, not arrive — decline it.
  3. On a marketplace sale, only ship an item after the money has genuinely landed in your own bank balance, not just appeared as a notification.
  4. If in doubt, open your banking app directly (not through a link) and check your actual balance before doing anything else.

What not to do

  • Don't approve a Bizum action just because someone tells you it's a 'refund' — check what the screen itself says first.
  • Don't ship a marketplace item based on a notification alone — confirm the real balance.
  • Don't feel rushed — a genuine buyer can wait the couple of minutes it takes to verify a payment.

Frequently asked questions

Can someone take money from my account through Bizum without my permission?

No — every outgoing Bizum payment requires your own explicit approval in the app. Scams work by disguising that approval screen as something else, like a refund.

I already approved something I shouldn't have — what now?

Contact your bank immediately through its official app or phone line; some Bizum transfers can be flagged or disputed shortly after if reported quickly.