Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller is reminding people who lost money to scams involving Western Union to apply for a refund before the February 12th deadline.
Western Union admitted it had processed thousands of transactions involving international consumer fraud between 2004 and 2012. The company failed to act against company agents who facilitated scams under fake lottery and prize awards, family emergencies, advanced loans, and online dating.
According to Miller, Iowans who previously wired money through Western Union bank transfers could be eligible for substantial refunds.
“Once the money has gone to a wire transfer like Western Union or bank transfer, it’s gone usually to a foreign country and it’s very hard to get it back. This is a very unusual, and very important opportunity for people to get their money they’ve been defrauded from a Western Union transfer,” Miller said.
Scams like this have been occurring for years, but applicants who prove they were scammed between January 1, 2004 and January 19, 2017 will be refunded a portion of the $586 million settlement made among the Western Union Company, the Federal Trade Commission, and the U.S. Department of Justice.
The reminder is time sensitive because the deadline is looming, and many Iowans are unaware that they are eligible, according to Miller.
“For Iowans who received a notice from the federal settlement administrator, this is a reminder that time is running out to apply for a refund,” Miller said. “But I’m also concerned about the many Iowa fraud victims who did not receive a settlement notice because they didn’t report fraud in the first place. They’re just as entitled to a refund as those who reported it.”
Iowa residents who identified themselves only as Helen and Jim from Des Moines say they are embarrassed that they fell for the scam, and warn fellow Iowans to be wary by sharing their story.
“They are so good, so good at what they do that I’m embarrassed to even think that I fell for it, but I did. And if it can help anybody else and make them think, I was willing to tell my story,” Helen said.
The couple says they received a call from someone posing as their grandson, who asked them to wire money to him in the Dominican Republic. He claimed he was in trouble and needed to pay a fine.
“Well right away I was nervous about it. And I said, ‘James is that you?’ Which I gave him a name, and he said yes,” Helen said.
The couple had wired between $8,000 and $10,000 that day thinking it would help their grandson get out of trouble, then didn’t hear from him again.
“He was supposed to come home the next day, and I called the next day because he didn’t want his mother to know about this,” Helen said. “He couldn’t believe it. He said he wasn’t anywhere. Right there that told me that I really fell into it and made some pretty stupid decisions.”
Western Union has since implemented anti-fraud programming to catch agents involved in similar activity.
If a victim is eligible for a refund, applications can be submitted online to: www.ftc.gov/wu, www.westernunionremission.com, or by calling 844-319-2124 for more information.