Western Union agreed to forfeit $586 million as part of a 2017 settlement with federal authorities resolving allegations that fraudsters used the company’s money transfer services to carry out scams, including grandparent and lottery schemes that tricked consumers into wiring money.
The Western Union settlement benefits consumers who sent a money transfer through Western Union between Jan. 1, 2004, and March 9, 2020, and were victims of fraud.
According to an investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Western Union was aware that fraudsters were using its services to scam consumers out of their money. Despite this knowledge, Western Union allegedly failed to take reasonable steps to protect consumers from wire transfer fraud.
Western Union is a money transfer service that allows consumers to send money to friends, family and businesses around the world.
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