If you sent money to a scammer in China via Western Union, read on…
Good news for fraud victims, who paid scammers through Western Union between January 1, 2004 and January 19, 2017. The US Federal Trade Commission reached a settlement agreement with Western Union in which Western Union agreed to pay $586 million to reimburse fraud victims.
The FTC alleged that fraudsters were able to use Western Union’s money transfer system to get payments from their victims, even though the company was aware of the problem and received hundreds of thousands of complaints about fraud-induced money transfers made for fraudulent lottery and prizes, family emergencies, advance-fee loans, online dating and other scams. The company also allegedly failed to promptly discipline problem Western Union agents, and failed to have effective anti-fraud policies and procedures.
“American consumers lost money while Western Union looked the other way,” said FTC Acting Chairman Maureen K. Ohlhausen. “We’re pleased to start the process that will get that money back into consumers’ rightful hands.”
This notice will be helpful to some of our previous clients and we will be contacting them to let them know. If you are affected, filing a claim is free. Go to: FTC.gov/WU
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