So I contacted a provider a few days ago. We discussed everything and it seemed to be all good. She kept insisting that I Venmo her the donation that night. I told her I preferred to do cash. She was hesitant, but agreed. So the next day, we text back and forth again and she tells me to drive to her neighborhood and call her at 2:00, at which point she'd give me her address. So I drive 30 minutes all the way out there and call her. She answers, I tell her my name and that I'm in the neighborhood. She then proceeds to hang up on me. Hmmmm not sure what the deal is. I text her, "Is everything ok? I'm in your neighborhood." She replies, "Sorry hun, but I think you're a cop." I ask what I can do to prove it. She sends me a Venmo request. At this point my spidey senses are tingling. I think this may be a scam. Is she going to ghost me as soon as she gets the money? Also, my significant other will start asking questions if she sees that amount of money going out of our account, something I relayed to my provider the night before which she seemed to understand. I'm pissed, driving away. I tell her I drove all the way out there and I wish she would've just told me no last night! She replied, "I'm so sorry!"
I guess my question is, is Venmo a thing in this industry or is it mostly cash? I was very hesitant to use an app to pay a provider because it's so easy for them to just stop responding as soon as they get the money. Also, what can I do to prevent this from happening again?