Do you have a grandparent or elderly friend who was deceived into sending money to a relative overseas to, say, keep them out of jail? The elderly are the ones most often taken advantage of by such scams, sending part of the money they need to live on off to a scam artist. And how do they send it? Western Union usually.
Western Union has admitted to the federal government that they have been letting these scams happen–aiding and abetting fraud, which is a felony. As a consequence, they’ve agreed to several measures they’ll take, including paying $586 billion They will refund “fraudulently induced money transfers.”
For more details, go to https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/western-union-admits-anti-money-laundering-and-consumer-fraud-violations-forfeits-586-million.
If you know someone who got caught up in this, especially an older person who may find it difficult or confusing applying for a refund, keep going back to https://www.justice.gov/criminal-afmls/remission#wu to check on the progress of the settlement. Right now, the Dept. of Justice is looking for a claims administrator to oversee the program. Once a person is hired, it won’t be long before the website will have instructions for filing claims. The DOJ moves slowly. Don’t give up.
