Do I send the money back?

No matter what you do, just by posting this you're already telling us you're a dishonest person.

To clarify, this was not someone that was an old customer. It’s a random person from Chicago. I live in Boston. Very common business name for the Venmo so they just meant to send it to someone that had the same user name as me but with a number or something at the end

I have it back

You have a legal obligation to send it back. Once an insurance company sent me a check for $1700 more than my claim amount because they messed up the exchange rate and I returned it without thought. It’s not even a moral dilemma for you, it’s a legal obligation to return it if that makes it easier for you.

Good

I gave it back but I don’t think this is accurate. I never actually registered as a business or anything. I just mowed some lawns on the side as more of a hobby. It was the equivalent of someone sending money to you personal Venmo by accident. It’s not the same as money accidentally going into a bank account. Even if I did formally register the “business” I still don’t think I’d be obligated to send it back as Venmo isn’t the same as your scenario legally. Don’t tell the IRS I didn’t report my income

No you don’t. It’s a secured transaction. If you signed the liability paperwork and put your bank account details into Venmo, you have agreed to deal with any consequences that come with that within the bounds of that contract. If there’s evidence that you were coerced or hacked it’s a different story but sending it to someone accidentally does not legally obligate them to send it back.

But it’s a crappy thing to do by keeping the money, and even if not legally you’re morally be stealing by keeping the money. You made the right move OP.

This is a common scam. The $175 sent to you was done with a stolen credit which once reported will be deducted from your account. So if you already "sent back" the money you will soon have a -$175 Venmo balance. Sorry.

I'm with crinschler on this one. Wait a few weeks before considering returning it.

Any legal disclaimers or terms of service are between the user and Venmo, generally for Venmo’s protection, they don’t supersede the law. A payment to the wrong recipient is a mistake of fact and keeping it would lead to liability for unjust enrichment. Not sure what law school you went to but this is pretty basic stuff.

To clarify, while there is not strictly a legal obligation to send the money back, if the sender decided to sue for the money, they would have a valid cause of action if they wanted to go through the hassle.

A coin company in southeast Florida has kept sending my dead father over $7,000 in silver dollars. The credit card company keeps excepting the billing. We have told both to stop . Lawyer won't finish settlement of the estate as long as this stuff keeps going on. I don't think I could get $3,000 trying to get rid of these.

I read about this before sending it back. I refunded it. Didn’t send it back. It might be different because it’s a business Venmo account so you can hit refund

Not just a dishonest person but a full-fledged turd.

I would at least get feet pics

Why?

I'm sure the original post was a fake, but when someone supposedly sends you a payment then claims it was an accident and asks for a refund, it's virtually always a scam. It's one of the oldest tricks in the book. The original payment falls through after you send the refund and you're out $175.

Send it back you broke joke!