diff --git a/src/libs/actions/IOU.js b/src/libs/actions/IOU.js
index 07e814f92884..a157c54c8002 100644
--- a/src/libs/actions/IOU.js
+++ b/src/libs/actions/IOU.js
@@ -1054,7 +1054,8 @@ function createSplitsAndOnyxData(participants, currentUserLogin, currentUserAcco
         const isPolicyExpenseChat = ReportUtils.isPolicyExpenseChat(participant);
 
         // In case the participant is a workspace, email & accountID should remain undefined and won't be used in the rest of this code
-        const email = isOwnPolicyExpenseChat || isPolicyExpenseChat ? '' : OptionsListUtils.addSMSDomainIfPhoneNumber(participant.login).toLowerCase();
+        // participant.login is undefined when the request is initiated from a group DM with an unknown user, so we need to add a default
+        const email = isOwnPolicyExpenseChat || isPolicyExpenseChat ? '' : OptionsListUtils.addSMSDomainIfPhoneNumber(participant.login || '').toLowerCase();
         const accountID = isOwnPolicyExpenseChat || isPolicyExpenseChat ? 0 : Number(participant.accountID);
         if (email === currentUserEmailForIOUSplit) {
             return;