Here’s a case of a clever marketing campaign that went completely wrong.
Instead of being a Christmas hero giving out free money, Santa is becoming the Grinch who took the rent money through Venmo.
Why are people sending ‘Santa’ money on Venmo?
TikToker Ashley (@ashleybrookeee) is going viral (her video already has 3.1 million views) after claiming her friend accidentally sent Santa her rent.
Everyone was confused by what Ashley meant. So in a follow-up video, she puts everything into context.
Ashley explains that she got a Snapchat promo video from the official Venmo account. It was Santa telling her he was on Venmo as @SantaOnVenmo. She says that he said if she requested money from him, he might make her wish come true.
Ashley admits that she didn’t listen to the whole message since she was in the middle of a bar when she got the video. But she says she understood the gist.
Trying to help her friends who she was out with, Ashley says she told them about the video and that they could request up to $100.
They all started doing it, but she noticed something was off with her friend’s boyfriend’s screen. Instead of requesting money, “He’s about to pay Santa $50.”
“I look across the bar at my friend, and I’m like, ‘Did you send Santa money?’” Ashley recalls asking.
A common mistake
“I just sent Santa my rent money,” she says her other friend told her.
The most likely scenario is that she thought she was asking Santa to cover her rent but mistakenly hit “send” instead of “request” since they’re so close together.
“I almost did the same thing,” Ashley admits.
Ashley points out that when you scroll on the @SantaOnVenmo account, you see that a bunch of people paid for the imaginary character. Venmo is likely troubleshooting right now since when we typed in @SantaOnVenmo, no account came up (only scam look-alikes).
“It’s like the saddest thing ever. One person paid just to say, ‘Send me my money back’ to Santa,” Ashley says.
Venmo’s response
“Due to the overwhelming response to the Santa on Venmo giveaway, we have paused the promotion to review and address accidental payments which will be refunded to users,” a Venmo representative told the Daily Dot in an email.
“Those who entered the giveaway via payment requests have been captured and entered for a chance to win. We apologize for any confusion or inconvenience this has caused,” they continued.
The Daily Dot reached out to Ashley for comment via Instagram and TikTok direct message.
What is the Santa promo?
To be clear, Venmo is doing a four-day holiday sweepstakes and giving away up to $50,000 to 500 winners.
Playing into the Christmas vibe, it created a “Santa Claus” account, and in true Santa fashion, if you ask him for a gift by Venmo requesting up to $100, he might just make your wish come true. And don’t make this common mistake. He’s not @Santa, it’s @SantaOnVenmo.
No, the money won’t be left under your tree. But a gift is a gift, no matter how you get it. (Also, for legal purposes, there’s the option to sign up through the form on this site: https://venmo.com/santaonvenmo/.
While you can request any amount up to $100, it only makes sense to ask for the maximum amount since winners will be chosen at random, not based on the amount requested or what is written on the request.
The contest duration is pretty short. It started on Friday and ends Dec. 9, so you still have time to apply if you read this in time. Keep in mind you’re limited to one entry.
This sweepstakes is open to U.S. residents who are 18 or older and have a verified Venmo account.
Beware of Santa scams
Some scammers are taking advantage of the fact that people can get easily confused with this type of contest.
If they see an advertisement that looks legitimate but has the wrong Venmo name (like @venmosanta), they may engage with the wrong Venmo account.
More nefariously, paid ads on social media could lure victims in and only allow them to use the “pay” instead of the request feature. So a person who thinks they’re entering the contest goes through the process, and without noticing it, they end up sending money instead of requesting it, Malware Tips reported.
Commenters react
“I’m confused why are people PAYING him u we’re supposed to REQUEST” a top comment read.
“The only time being broke comes in clutch cuz I only got like $20 so it’d decline even if I paid on accident,” a person said.
“It won’t even let me request so I feel like they’re trying to figure out why,” another wrote.
“It let me request $100. Why are people paying?! Are we not looking at what we’re doing w our money??” a commenter added.
@ashleybrookeee @Venmo @Santa Claus 🎅🏻 ✨❄️ literally WHAT… help #venmo ##santa##giftsfromsanta##merrychristmas##help ♬ gilmore lala – <3
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