Did you lose money to a scammer who had you pay using Western Union between January 1, 2004 and January 19, 2017? If so, you can ask for money back from the FTC’s settlement with Western Union. And the deadline to file your claim was just extended to May 31, 2018.
Here’s the deal. Western Union agreed to return $586 million to people to settle the FTC’s charges that Western Union hadn’t adequately protected people from fraud, and didn’t properly discipline problem agents. To get money back, here’s what you need to do by May 31, 2018:
- Start at FTC.gov/WU to file your claim online. If you got a letter in the mail about a complaint you filed earlier, you’ll have a Claim ID and a PIN. Click the blue “I got a pre-filled claim form” button and use those to file your claim. If you didn’t get a letter in the mail, click the orange button that says “I lost money, but did not get a claim form.”
- Give as much information as you can about your loss. Upload any paperwork you have. The Department of Justice, which is handling the claims through their contractor, Gilardi & Co, will use that information to try to validate your Western Union money transfer.
- Yes, you have to give your Social Security number or ITIN to file a claim.
- Don’t pay anybody to help you file your claim, or get money back. Anybody who asks you to pay for your claim or refund is scamming you. Tell the FTC.
- Then, be patient. It might take a year for the Department of Justice to validate all the claims and start returning money.
This is what I have been telling everyone about what FTC is trying to do for the consumer. Hard to believe that $586 million was scammed from citizens. There are no get rich quick schemes, you did not win any foreign lottery or local lottery, there is no down payment, if you will, on beginning a surefire home business , you did not inherit a lot of money from someone you never heard of who knows about all your heartaches and woes and wants to leave you $100 million, you did not win a sweepstakes, you did not win a new expensive anything. no one from Microsoft called you to let you know you have a virus and they want to fix your computer for you for a fee,and access to your information, you did not get a call from a genuine IRS agent stating he will be glad to accept your payment on back taxes if you send a wire transfer of a vanilla visa card , you did not win a gift card to anywhere, legitimate Government agency is not calling and ready to send you money you are owed. All these scams and many more require you to pay upfront and divulge personal information.
These are just some of the scams citizens have fallen for and if you have to pay a dime on anything you “won” it is a scam. The sad part is that $586 million owed by Western Union is a drop in the bucket to the $million and $millions that are irretrievable. When there is no paper trail, hard to get it back.
We are a country of instant gratification, and this is how so many get into mischief. If I give a few hundred bucks my worries are over, I am going to get a few million. Not in this lifetime, IF IT SOUNDS TO GOOD TO BE TRUE IT PROBABLY IS. When you think about it, there is that small percentage of citizens who are so desperate for extra money they will spend what little they have to get the pie in the sky, this is sad, and then there are those who are just greedy by nature and jump in thinking if I pay a few bucks what a return I am going to get, woohoo and not have to pay a dime in taxes.
If the scammers continue to have an audience to play to, then this will never end.
If you know anyone who has been burned by Western Union, let them know so they can get some money back.
Courtesy of Attorney for Midwest Region, FTC.
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