Victims of wire transfer service scams file claims to recoup funds

Wire service held accountable for fraud Wire transfer services are a popular vehicle for fraudsters and police in the US are taking a different tact to help recoup losses. Lea Williams-Doherty explains…

Wire transfer services like Western Union are often used by fraudsters to con people into sending them money and a lawsuit launched by law enforcement in the United States earlier this year is now helping victims get their money back.

People have lost money for years in various scams that required them to send their payment through a Western Union wire transfer service.

The fraudsters make contact with the victims and promise prizes, loans, jobs and other rewards in exchange for an upfront payment. The victims then send the money and never receive the cash or services promised.

An investigation by the Federal Trade Commission, Department of Justice and U.S. Postal Service into wire service scams claimed that Western Union knew about the fraud and had the ability to address it.

Western Union settled the lawsuit by agreeing to pay $586 million and the DOJ is using the funds to provide refunds to those who were caught up in scams that used the wire service.

Evelyn McTavish was scammed out of $2400 in 2012 by a person posing as her son who claimed to need money to get out of jail.

Both Calgary police and Western Union said there was nothing they could do to get her money back so she filed the requisite reports and forgot about it.

On Monday, she received a notice from the DOJ saying that Western Union admitted responsibility and that she was eligible for a refund from the victim’s compensation fund.

McTavish had not heard about the settlement and was still a little skeptical.

“That’s what made me wonder if this was another scam.  There was no return address on the envelope, it was from a lawyer's firm in the United States, there was no mention of Canada,” she said.

CTV Calgary’s consumer specialist Lea Williams-Doherty looked into it and confirmed the information with the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission.

The Canadian Anti-fraud Centre didn't participate in the legal action but did provide US authorities with Canadian wire fraud victims' information and confirmed that Canadians can participate.

“Victims of consumer fraud that sent funds, that sent a money transfer, are eligible if they sent a Western Union transfer sometime between January 1, 2004 through to January 19, 2017,” said Jessica Gunson from the Canadian Anti-fraud Centre.

The deadline to file a claim is February 1, 2018, and anyone who believes they are entitled to compensation can check their eligibility through the Western Union Remission Website.

(With files from Lea Williams-Doherty)