Fake Stripe Chargeback Reserve Safe-Account Scam
Criminals posing as Stripe's risk team tell merchants that a large wave of chargebacks requires immediate funds to be deposited into a 'Stripe reserve account' — a safe-account variant targeting small businesses whose revenue depends on Stripe payouts.
Part of: Safe Account Scams
Last reviewed: 7 June 2026
Stripe operates a legitimate reserve mechanism for merchants with elevated chargeback rates, where a portion of revenue is held back temporarily as a financial buffer. Scammers have learned to weaponise this real and little-understood feature, contacting merchants with fabricated notices about chargeback levels that require the merchant to deposit funds pre-emptively into a Stripe-managed reserve account to keep their account active.
The attack targets the merchant's worst fear: losing access to Stripe in the middle of their business operations. A call from someone presenting as Stripe's risk team is alarming because it implies that their primary revenue channel may be switched off. The emotional and financial stakes drive rapid, less cautious decision-making.
The 'reserve deposit' is always sent to a bank account or cryptocurrency wallet that has nothing to do with Stripe. Once transferred, the funds are irretrievable. The merchant discovers the fraud only when they contact Stripe's real support team and are told no reserve requirement exists on their account.
How this scam works on the Stripe brand
Stripe's genuine reserve mechanism is communicated entirely through the Stripe dashboard and official email from @stripe.com. Any reserve requirement shows in the Balance section of dashboard.stripe.com. Stripe does not call merchants to request deposits — all financial requirements are managed through the dashboard, and any funds held as a reserve are withheld from existing payouts rather than collected separately from the merchant.
The fraudster's call sounds financially sophisticated. They reference the merchant's industry, approximate monthly volume (guessed or obtained from public business data), and cite specific chargeback threshold percentages. They may describe regulatory requirements or cite Stripe's terms of service. The combination of accurate-seeming business knowledge and technical terminology can overwhelm the merchant's scepticism.
Some variants are emails rather than calls, attaching a fake 'Stripe Reserve Notice' PDF. The document includes the merchant's name, fabricated transaction data, and a bank account or wire transfer destination for the reserve deposit. It asks for confirmation within 48 hours to 'avoid account suspension'.
Common red flags
- A call or email from 'Stripe risk' requesting a reserve deposit to a bank account or wallet
- Reserve requirement communicated via phone or external email rather than in the Stripe dashboard
- Instructions to wire funds to an account rather than having Stripe withhold from payouts
- Specific chargeback percentages quoted that cannot be verified in the real Stripe dashboard
- Urgency: 'Your account will be suspended within 48 hours without this deposit'
- A PDF notice about reserves attached to an email from a [email protected] address
- The receiving account for the reserve is a personal bank account rather than a Stripe corporate entity
How to protect yourself
- Log in to dashboard.stripe.com to check your real Balance and any genuine reserve requirements
- Contact Stripe support at support.stripe.com if you receive any communication about reserves
- Never wire funds to an external account based on an emailed PDF or phone call
- Stripe's real reserve mechanism withholds from payouts — it never requires a separate deposit from you
- Verify any email about reserves comes from @stripe.com before acting
- Brief your finance team on this scam so multiple people can flag suspicious payment requests
- Report suspicious communications to [email protected] immediately
How to report it
- Forward the communication to [email protected]
- Report through Stripe's support portal at support.stripe.com
- File a complaint with the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov
- If funds were wired, contact the sending bank immediately to attempt a recall
- Report to the FBI's IC3 at ic3.gov for wire-fraud investigation
Frequently asked questions
How does Stripe's real reserve mechanism work?
Stripe may establish a reserve for certain merchant accounts by withholding a percentage of incoming payouts rather than paying them out immediately. This is visible in the Balance section of the Stripe dashboard and communicated via email from @stripe.com. No external deposit from the merchant is ever required.
What should I do if I wired money to a fake Stripe reserve account?
Contact your bank immediately to attempt a wire recall — the sooner you act, the higher the chance of recovery. Report to Stripe at support.stripe.com, to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov, and to the FBI's IC3 at ic3.gov.
How do fraudsters know my Stripe transaction volume?
Business transaction data may be partly inferable from public sources such as LinkedIn, press releases, or e-commerce marketplace listings. Fraudsters may also purchase business-profile data. The knowledge lends false credibility but does not confirm the caller is from Stripe.