Woman Faces Prison Over Allegedly Fraudulent Cash App Account Opened in Her Name

Amanda Smith faces a computer fraud charge and potentially up to six years in prison after a Cash App account allegedly opened using her identity received $1,000 from a Facebook Marketplace scam. Smith says someone used her Social Security number and date of birth to create the account without her involvement. Police arrested her in Pennsylvania over the alleged offense in Arkansas, where she says she had never been, and she spent three nights in jail. Investigators obtained identifying information from Cash App parent company Block, but 404 Media reported that account details, including the address and network used, did not match Smith’s own.

Cash App has refused to provide Smith with information about the account because she cannot prove ownership, leaving her facing a criminal charge linked to an account whose records she cannot obtain directly. Smith suspects information exposed in a data breach enabled the impersonation, but the source of her identifying information remains unconfirmed. Her case is ongoing and highlights the potential for identity theft to trigger criminal accusations, as well as the risks of treating account registration data as definitive evidence of who controlled an account.