FAQ: Scams, Fraud, and Consumer Protection

Be wary if you are required to pay a fee before receiving a loan.

Beware of sweepstakes, prize or lottery company representatives who tell you to transfer money to them in order to claim a prize you’ve won. There are many companies running fraudulent contests that ask you to transfer them money but give you nothing in return.

Beware of unsolicited letters or emails from Nigerian or other foreign government officials requesting assistance in the transfer of excess funds from a foreign country into your bank account.

Beware of telephone calls from the police claiming that someone you know has been in an accident or been arrested and is requesting money.

Beware of unsolicited letters or emails offering an unrealistic price for expensive or rare merchandise.

Make sure you know who you are sending money to. If you are purchasing goods or services and paying through the Western Union network, it is your responsibility to verify the reputation and legitimacy of the seller. Western Union is not responsible for the non-receipt or quality of any goods or services.

If you receive an email from a company representing itself as Western Union and you are not sure it was sent by westernunion.com or westernunion.ie, do not click on any links in the email. This may be a “phishing” attempt to fraudulently acquire sensitive information from you. Instead, immediately contact your local authorities.

Western Union will never send you an email asking for your user ID, password or credit card details.

The “Test Question” feature in the Western Union Money TransferSM service is designed for emergency situations where the receiver does not have proper identification (e.g. his or her wallet and identification have been stolen). It should never be used as additional security to time or delay the payment of a transaction. In many locations, Western Union will pay the receiver whenever the receiver shows proper identification, even if the receiver does not know the answer to the test question.

Western Union does not offer an escrow service or any type of “purchase protection” policy. Western Union’s business is to transfer funds from a sender to a receiver. We warn and recommend people using our services to not send money to people they don’t know. It is the sender’s responsibility to know the party to which the funds are being sent. Using a fictitious name or changing the Receiver’s name after the money transfer has been sent is not a guaranteed means of securing funds. If a receiver presents proper identification with the same name as on the money transfer, payment will be made.

Be wary of third party “pickup” or “holding” services unless they are a reputable, licensed escrow service. Western Union is not an escrow service, should not be used as an escrow service, and is currently not affiliated with any escrow services.

For online auctions, examine seller feedback carefully and know the warning signs associated with fraudulent auction sales. Most online auction sites have reliability guidelines or FAQs that can help you identify potentially fraudulent sales. Be wary if the seller is using a free email address or insists on accepting only one form of payment. Report any suspicious activity and file non-delivery of goods complaints with the auction site through which you purchased the item.

Remember that Western Union never acts as a guarantor of an auction buyer or seller’s performance.

Contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at http://www.antifraudcenter-centreantifraude.ca

If you feel you have been the victim of fraud, you can contact your local police or contact us on spoof@westernunion.com.

Western Union employs a variety of techniques, including SSL technology, to keep your personal information reliable.

Additionally, the following tips can help keep your password reliable:

• Make your password difficult to guess. Avoid using any part of your name, your birthday, or any words that can easily be associated with you.
• Use a combination of letters and numbers, and a mix of lower case and capital letters.
• Use multiple passwords for your various accounts to decrease your risk in the event that one password is compromised.
• Avoid writing your password down where it may be compromised.

You can further protect your passwords by making sure that your virus-scanning software is kept up to date, and by running anti-spyware programs. These programs can help protect you from viruses or other malware that could compromise your identity even though your computer may seem to be working fine.

If you use Microsoft Windows, make sure your Windows updates are enabled to help keep your operating system protected.

Use extra caution when entering your password on a computer that does not belong to you. Viruses, spyware or your browser’s settings might be used to compromise your account by recording your username and password.

In Microsoft Internet Explorer, you can view the security (SSL) certificate by following these steps:

1. Right-click your mouse on any reliable page within the site (any page beginning with “HTTPS://” with the small lock symbol displayed in the lower righthand corner).
2. Click “Properties” from the menu.
3. Click on the “Certificates” button to view the site’s SSL certificate(s).

In Mozilla Firefox, you can view the security (SSL) certificate by following these steps:

1. On any reliable page within a site (those pages beginning with “HTTPS://” with the small lock symbol displayed in the lower righthand corner), go to the “Tools” menu at the top of the browser window and select, “Page Info”.
2. In the dialogue box that appears, select the “Security” tab.
3. On the Security tab, click on the “View” button to view the security certificate.

Our Know Your Customer (KYC) department performs compliance interviews with frequent customers in order to comply with internal rules.

Your future use of our services depends on the result of this interview. These interviews will gather information about the purpose, and source of your transfers, and the relationship with your senders and receivers. We can request additional information through email or during the verbal interview.

Visit our Fraud Awareness page for more information.