The Turn to Tara team has learned mobile payment app scams are on the rise across the tri-state.

The scams can happen to anyone - at any time. The team came to the rescue of one local victim.

When Sandra LaRosa first contacted News 12 this fall, she was still shaken up from a financial wallop she suffered a few months before, after a fraudsters used the banking app Zelle to drain $2,000 from her Chase checking account.

The Yonkers grandmother spent weeks trying to recoup her losses.

"At one point I was on hold for an hour and a half, and they hung up," she says.

That's when she decided to "turn to Tara."

"It's to alert other people because a lot of people I talk to, they are not aware of it," LaRosa says.

Within days of the News 12 team reaching out to Chase, the money was returned to her account.

An outcome, that unfortunately, is out of reach for many victims.

Last year, a total of 18 million Americans were scammed through mobile payment apps, but according to the Better Business Bureau, only a tiny percentage, 3.7% of them, were able to get their money back.

Below are some ways you can protect your cash:

- Avoid doing any banking transactions over public Wi-Fi;

- Set up a two-step factor or multi-authentication on all your payment apps;

- Sign up for payment notifications for all your apps, so if money goes out, you'll know immediately;

- Another way scammers strike is by pretending to be a cash app customer service representative - so never give your sign-in code or PIN over the phone.

Got a problem? You should Turn to Tara. HERE'S HOW.