SCARS Institute’s Encyclopedia of Scams™ Published Continuously for 25 Years
RSN™ Guide: What Really Is Western Union?
The Western Union Company Is An American Financial Service And Communications Company
Few know that it is also the World’s Largest BANK, with branches in nearly 150 countries.
Its North American headquarters is in Meridian, Colorado, although the postal designation of nearby Englewood is used in its mailing address. Up until it discontinued the service in 2006, Western Union was the best-known U.S. company in the business of exchanging telegrams.
Western Union has several divisions, with products such as person-to-person money transfer, money orders, business payments and commercial services. They offered standard “Cablegrams”, as well as more cheerful products such as Candygrams, Dollygrams, and Melodygrams.
Western Union, as an industrialized monopoly, dominated the telegraph industry in the late 19th century. It was the first communications empire and set a pattern for American-style communications businesses as they are known today.
Scam Industry And Money Laundering
Western Union advises its customers not to send money to someone that they have never met in person. Despite its efforts in increasing customers’ awareness of the issue, Western Union is used for internet fraud by scammers.
Unfortunately, the victims lie to Western Union by claiming they know the scammers. This is where the complete breakdown occurs.
Western Union has been required to maintain records of payout locations of the individuals who may be laundering the money, though this information may be obtained only through the use of a subpoena. Hence advance-fee fraud and romance scammers continue to receive funds via Western Union confident in the knowledge that money lost to overseas scammers is almost always unrecoverable. For this reason, it is banned as a medium of payment through eBay and discouraged on other online auction websites.
Western Union admitted to allowing wire fraud in January 2017 and agreed to pay $586m, for turning a blind eye as criminals used its service for advance fee fraud.
Scammers engaging in various 419 advance fee and other scams including offering fake job offers and lottery prizes, were able to process transactions using Western Union money transfer, mainly by giving the agents a share of the earnings from their scams. Western Union failed to investigate hundreds of thousands of complaints victims filed.
In some countries, the local WU Agents (franchises) are owned by the scammers. This means scammers can still use fake names since it is up to the Agent to confirm the identity of the recipient.
Money Laundering And Terrorist Financing
The Central Bank of Ireland reprimanded and fined Western Union €1.75m in May 2015 because of failures in anti-money laundering practices which could have left the firm’s payment services open to being used for money laundering and/or terrorist financing saying that they were concerned that Western Union “failed to have in place sufficiently robust systems and procedures to train agents, to monitor and identify suspicious activity in respect of smaller transactions, and to maintain appropriate records” and “the splitting of payments into many separate smaller payments is a common method used to launder money. Similarly, terrorist financing is often carried out by small payment transfers.”
Western Union agents also allowed Chinese immigrants to use the service to send hundreds of millions of dollars, by sending the amounts in smaller increments to avoid transfer reporting requirements, to pay human smugglers.
Blocked Transactions
Western Union has begun blocking transactions based on suspicion of terrorist connections, as a part of the company’s involvement with the War on Terror. Currently, transfers sent from the Western Union website require telephone confirmation of the sender’s identity. On occasion, the transfer will fail and customer service informs the sender that the transaction “does not meet our requirements”. If details are requested, no information will be given other than the fact that their disclosure is forbidden. Numerous customers have reported this problem.
Of Course, This Has Not Stopped Wu Use By Scammers
Learn more here: https://business.facebook.com/onlineromancefraud/posts/1552605818159949
and here: https://www.romancescamsnow.com/dating-scams/western-union-repayment-news/
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WESTERN UNION REPAYMENT PROGRAM NEWS
FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION ABOUT THE WESTERN UNION REPAYMENT / REMISSION PROGRAM CLICK HERE – IT IS STILL OPEN FOR A PETITIONS FOR REPAYMENT
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Tell us about your experiences with Romance Scammers in our Scams Discussion Forum on Facebook »
FAQ: How Do You Properly Report Scammers?
It is essential that law enforcement knows about scams & scammers, even though there is nothing (in most cases) that they can do.
Always report scams involving money lost or where you received money to:
- Local Police – ask them to take an “informational” police report – say you need it for your insurance
- Your National Police or FBI (www.IC3.gov)
- The Scars Worldwide Reporting Network HERE or on www.Anyscam.com
This helps your government understand the problem, and allows law enforcement to add scammers on watch lists worldwide.
Visit our NEW Main SCARS™ News & Information Facebook page for much more information about scams and online crime: www.facebook.com/SCARS.News.And.Information
To learn more about SCARS visit www.AgainstScams.org
Please be sure to report all scammers HERE or on www.Anyscam.com
All original content is Copyright © 1991 – 2018 SCARS All Rights Reserved Worldwide & Webwide – RSN/Romance Scams Now & SCARS/Society of Citizens Against Romance Scams are all trademarks of Society of Citizens Against Romance Scams Inc.
#ReportingScammers #WhereToReportScams #Anyscam #SCARS #RSN #CatchScammers #ScammerWatchLists #ArrestScammers #REPORTSCAMMERS #ANYSCAM #AVOIDSCAMS #ROMANCESCAMS #ACTAGAINSTSCAMS #NIGERIANSCAMMERS #ROMANCESCAMSNOW #SCARS #GHANASCAMMERS #FAKEPROFILES #FACEBOOKSCAMMERS #BOYCOTTAFRICANCOFFEE
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Important Information for New Scam Victims
- Please visit www.ScamVictimsSupport.org – a SCARS Website for New Scam Victims & Sextortion Victims
- Enroll in FREE SCARS Scam Survivor’s School now at www.SCARSeducation.org
- Please visit www.ScamPsychology.org – to more fully understand the psychological concepts involved in scams and scam victim recovery
If you are looking for local trauma counselors please visit counseling.AgainstScams.org or join SCARS for our counseling/therapy benefit: membership.AgainstScams.org
If you need to speak with someone now, you can dial 988 or find phone numbers for crisis hotlines all around the world here: www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines
A Note About Labeling!
We often use the term ‘scam victim’ in our articles, but this is a convenience to help those searching for information in search engines like Google. It is just a convenience and has no deeper meaning. If you have come through such an experience, YOU are a Survivor! It was not your fault. You are not alone! Axios!
A Question of Trust
At the SCARS Institute, we invite you to do your own research on the topics we speak about and publish, Our team investigates the subject being discussed, especially when it comes to understanding the scam victims-survivors experience. You can do Google searches but in many cases, you will have to wade through scientific papers and studies. However, remember that biases and perspectives matter and influence the outcome. Regardless, we encourage you to explore these topics as thoroughly as you can for your own awareness.
Statement About Victim Blaming
Some of our articles discuss various aspects of victims. This is both about better understanding victims (the science of victimology) and their behaviors and psychology. This helps us to educate victims/survivors about why these crimes happened and to not blame themselves, better develop recovery programs, and to help victims avoid scams in the future. At times this may sound like blaming the victim, but it does not blame scam victims, we are simply explaining the hows and whys of the experience victims have.
These articles, about the Psychology of Scams or Victim Psychology – meaning that all humans have psychological or cognitive characteristics in common that can either be exploited or work against us – help us all to understand the unique challenges victims face before, during, and after scams, fraud, or cybercrimes. These sometimes talk about some of the vulnerabilities the scammers exploit. Victims rarely have control of them or are even aware of them, until something like a scam happens and then they can learn how their mind works and how to overcome these mechanisms.
Articles like these help victims and others understand these processes and how to help prevent them from being exploited again or to help them recover more easily by understanding their post-scam behaviors. Learn more about the Psychology of Scams at www.ScamPsychology.org
Psychology Disclaimer:
All articles about psychology and the human brain on this website are for information & education only
The information provided in this article is intended for educational and self-help purposes only and should not be construed as a substitute for professional therapy or counseling.
While any self-help techniques outlined herein may be beneficial for scam victims seeking to recover from their experience and move towards recovery, it is important to consult with a qualified mental health professional before initiating any course of action. Each individual’s experience and needs are unique, and what works for one person may not be suitable for another.
Additionally, any approach may not be appropriate for individuals with certain pre-existing mental health conditions or trauma histories. It is advisable to seek guidance from a licensed therapist or counselor who can provide personalized support, guidance, and treatment tailored to your specific needs.
If you are experiencing significant distress or emotional difficulties related to a scam or other traumatic event, please consult your doctor or mental health provider for appropriate care and support.
Also read our SCARS Institute Statement about Professional Care for Scam Victims – click here to go to our ScamsNOW.com website.
I have been scammed in Ghana, is there anyway to retrieve any money I had sent !
It starts with making a report. Most times the money never comes back, but with sufficient information accumulated from reports arrests become possible, especially when scammers cross borders.