Yes, this is a scam: no one needs your online banking password, one-time codes, full card details or app PIN to send you money, and anyone who asks is trying to take over your account or use it to move stolen money.

To receive money, the most anyone needs is what you would put on an invoice: your name and a payment handle, or account and routing numbers for a direct deposit. Your login, password, PIN and verification codes are keys to take money out, not put it in.

The short answer

Do not share them, and if you already have, act now. The US Federal Trade Commission says plainly: "Anyone who asks you for your account verification code is a scammer," and warns that with that code they can log in to your account and move your money out. (FTC) Seeking's own safety page lists requests for bank account details or passwords as a red flag and tells members to "never send money to someone they meet on our platforms." (Seeking) The Better Business Bureau's January 2025 alert on sugar daddy and sugar momma scams also names requests for bank login access among the warning signs. (BBB)

How the scam works

There are two common versions, and both start with the same promise of an allowance.

Version 1: account takeover.

  1. He says his bank only allows "direct" transfers, or that he wants to deposit your allowance himself, so he needs your username and password.
  2. You get a one-time code by text. He asks you to read it to him "so the deposit goes through".
  3. With the login and code he can see your balance, change your contact details, add himself as a payee, or empty the account. With card details he can make purchases. With a payment app PIN or sign-in code he can control the app.

Version 2: your account becomes a money mule.

  1. Money really does arrive in your account, from people you don't know, or as a check or mobile deposit.
  2. He asks you to send it on: to a "business partner", through a payment app, as gift cards or as crypto. Sometimes he does it himself using your login.
  3. That money was usually stolen from other fraud victims. The US Justice Department defines money mules as "people who, at someone else's direction, receive and move money obtained from victims of fraud," notes that fraudsters strike up online relationships to recruit them, and warns that "knowingly moving money for illegal activities can lead to serious consequences—including criminal charges." (US DOJ)

The FBI's definition of romance fraud explicitly covers people tricked into sending "personal and financial information" or into laundering money for the scammer. In 2025 the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) recorded 23,159 confidence/romance complaints with $929,287,469 in reported losses. (IC3 2025 report)

Red flags

  • Any request for your online banking username or password.
  • Any request to read out or forward a code sent to your phone or email.
  • Requests for your full card number, expiry date and security code, or your Cash App, Venmo or other app PIN or sign-in code.
  • Requests to photograph your card or ID "for the transfer".
  • Money arriving from strangers, followed by instructions to send it on.
  • Being asked to open a new account or payment app "for the allowance".
  • A promise that this is the only way his bank can pay you.
  • He wants payment before a video call. See how to verify a sugar daddy is real.

What to do now

  1. Stop all contact and do not send on any money that is in your account. The DOJ's advice for anyone who thinks they may be acting as a money mule is to stop contact with the recruiter, not send the money on, tell your bank, and report it to law enforcement. (US DOJ)
  2. Call your bank or card issuer using the number on your card or in the official app. Tell them you shared your login or card details, and ask them to lock the account, cancel the card and review recent activity. The DOJ also suggests considering opening new accounts.
  3. Change your passwords and PINs for banking, email and payment apps, starting with your email (it is used to reset everything else). Turn on two-step verification and sign out other devices.
  4. Check your payment apps for new linked accounts, payees or devices you don't recognise.
  5. Report it. US: ReportFraud.ftc.gov and the FBI at ic3.gov. If personal information was taken, the FTC's IdentityTheft.gov gives a recovery plan. England, Wales and Northern Ireland: Report Fraud (formerly Action Fraud) at reportfraud.police.uk or 0300 123 2040. Scotland: Police Scotland on 101.
  6. Report the profile on the site or app where you met.
  7. Check the X profile he uses, if any, in our Account Radar, which shows whether an X (Twitter) account is in the SDI database.

Telling your bank quickly is the single most useful thing you can do. If money has passed through your account, being upfront with the bank and police early also helps show you were deceived.

FAQ

What details are safe to give someone who wants to pay me?

For most payment apps, your public username or handle is enough. For a bank transfer, your name with account and routing (or sort code) numbers lets someone send money; never add your password, PIN or one-time codes. If you would rather not share bank details with someone you have not met, you don't have to.

I only gave him a verification code. Is that serious?

Yes. The FTC says a verification code is only for you to log in, and that with it a scammer can get into your account and transfer money out. Change your password and call your bank now.

Money from strangers landed in my account and he wants it forwarded. What should I do?

Don't forward it. That pattern matches how the DOJ describes money mule recruitment. Call your bank, explain what happened, and report it.

Could I get in trouble for this?

Moving fraud money can lead to criminal charges when it is done knowingly, according to the DOJ. Stopping now, not moving any more money, and reporting promptly is the safest course. If you are worried about your own position, speak to a lawyer. For other scam patterns aimed at sugar babies, read our sugar dating scams guide, the fake check scam and fee or gift card requests.

Sources

Sources checked October 6, 2026.