Many customers who use Western Union to transfer funds to their family, friends, employees working remotely and business partners, have been victimized by fraudsters or scammers at least once in their lifetime. Western Union as a responsible remittance company is doing all it can to educate customers about these kinds of scams.
However, a huge portion of vulnerable people still fall for these scams.
In this article we will talk about some of the most common scams on Western Union, and what to do if you get scammed through Western Union?
Will you get your money back?
Most common Western Union scams
There are several types of scams which are perpetrated by fraudsters, out of which we have listed the most common ones below.
Love Scams/Relationship Scams
If you ever get a text or email from any random person who wants to get in a relationship with you and asks you to send him some funds so that he could visit you, then it is time for you to guard up as you are getting scammed.
Love scams are more common in international dating websites. People get catfished or worse get scammed by the exact same person they are talking to. When dating online make sure to only start financial give and take when you completely trust the person.
No matter what stage of relationship you are in with your online date. Sending money to someone you have not met would still come with its risks.
Tech Scams
Technology has played a very vital role in our lives but it also has a darker side through which many Western Union customers have been victimized.
There are many online sellers who scam people online as they advertise fake products and charge big amounts against those.
Most of the scammers also say that a fraudulent activity has been noticed in your recent transaction. They will even ask you to grant access to your computer through a team viewer to show you that you are indeed attacked. Don’t ever give out any information in order to keep your funds safe.
Federal Grant Scams
Many scammers will offer you free money which they refer to as a grant from the government itself. These fraudsters might start to ask for personal information such as your social security number in order to check whether you qualify for the grant or not. You will also be asked to pay for an up-front fee through online currencies or money transfer services like Western Union. Whenever you spot a scam, immediately report it to
You got Scammed through Western Union, Now What?
Once you realize that you have been scammed, the first thing you should do is to contact Western Union customer support and check whether the transfer has been picked up by the scammer or not. If the payment is still there, immediately get the transfer canceled.
If the payment has been picked up by the scammer, you should report to the Western Union’s fraud department at 1-800-488-1492 or use the online fraud claim form to file a report.
The reports that are received by Western Union fraud department help them to track the scams and help others to avoid such scams in future.
Read: Can Police Trace a Western Union Transfer?
Will Western Union refund my money if I was scammed?
A joint investigation carried out by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regarding the financial scams which affected many Western Union customers. Therefore, Western Union decided to refund its customers who were scammed between 1st January 2004 and 19th January 2017.
After January 19th 2017, Western Union has put proper security checks and precautionary disclaimers for consumers which allows them to claim total separation from any illegal activity going through their system.