I-Team's Call For Action Helps Cape Cod Man Get Access To Cash App Account After Losing His Phone
CAPE COD (CBS) -- Cash App is a mobile financial platform that works a lot like a bank. You can use it to deposit your paycheck, pay friends, and it comes with a debit card.
"You can use it at stores. It's like a regular card," explained Rick Taylor, a Cape Cod man who uses the app.
Like many apps, it requires two-step authentication to log in.
"It sends you a message to your phone for a code that you put in. It's for security. But if you lose your phone, then there's a problem," he said.
Rick Taylor lost his phone, and without it, he couldn't do that verification process and couldn't access his money.
He tried reaching out to the company for help via email, but just kept getting emails back that said:
Your request to access this account was not approved. For security reasons, we cannot reverse this decision and are unable to provide additional details.
"Every day I got one of those," he said. "I've been trying for like weeks, emailing everybody. The banking commission, the Cash App, the parent company for Cash App, and they said they couldn't help me."
That's when he contacted the I-Team's Call for Action, and we reached out to Cash App. The company told us that for privacy reasons, they could not comment on the specifics of Rick's case, but shortly after we spoke to them, they did return his $1,600.
"I'm very relieved," Rick told us. "Thank you so much. I don't know what I would have done."
There are a couple of things you can do to avoid this type of issue with two-step authentication. Some platforms will let you set up a backup code that you can save some place other than your phone. You can use email for verification. Or, if you have an iPad, or other device, you can set it up to receive your texts on that or send the code directed to it.