Western Union fraud victims reimbursed, millions paid out

Fraud victims who sent scammers money via Western Union will be paid $18.5 million, recovering the full amount of their losses, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) has announced.

The Western Union Remission Fund started its second round of payments to the victims of scammers. Around 3,000 people will receive $18.5 million, with each victim recovering the full amount of their loss, the DoJ said.

The Fund was set up after the Western Union paid $586 million to settle charges brought by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2017. The money transfer giant admitted to criminally aiding and abetting wire fraud.

“Western Union allowed fraudsters to carry out schemes against the most vulnerable people in our society, and we are proud to uphold accountability for those involved in these schemes and ensure proper compensation for the harm that victims suffered,” US Attorney Gerard M. Karam for the Middle District of Pennsylvania said.

According to the authorities, some Western Union location owners, operators, and employees were complicit in various fraudulent schemes that often targeted senior citizens. Victims were mostly targeted via three types of fraud schemes: grandparents’ scams, sweepstakes scams, and romance scams.

During the first one, scammers pose as the victim’s relative in need of immediate financial assistance; the second one lures the victims into paying made-up fees for supposed lottery prizes, while the third one would have scammers posing as love interests until a money transfer was secured.

Individuals who made a money transfer between January 1st, 2004, and January 19th, 2017, and were victims of fraud are eligible for a refund. While the online submission process for remission has been closed since 2019, mailed petitions for Remission are still subject to DoJ discretion, the Fund claims.

According to the DoJ, it has returned more than $420 million forfeited from Western Union to more than 175,000 victims, who have received full compensation for their losses.