Western Union Fraud?

eth0_

I need some urgent advice here. Yesterday I transferred quite a lot of money via western union to pay for something I won on Ebay. The seller wouldn't take escrow but he told me to do the following:
Send the money to the name of my father, my best friend etc, in Greece (where he is located). Email him the confirmation number and the name I sent it to, and he'd then send me the items I paid for.
When I received the items, I was to call WU and have them change the receiver name to his name.

Sounds safe doesn't it, especially as the receiver has to have passport ID to pick up the money.

He emailed me yesterday saying WU in greece told him the money wasn't there. I didn't give him any more information but said i'd call WU here to check. They said the money was there and that someone had called to check it was there an hour before he emailed me saying it WASN'T there.

I checked the WU site an hour ago and...."Funds paid to receiver".
WHAT THE FSCK! I've emailed WU and they have passed on my email to the appropriate dept, and i'm going to call them in the morning, but what the hell can I do! Surely WU would cop that a Greek guy doesn't look like someone with an Irish name!

I just got an email from WU saying this:
"Western Union is committed to protecting the interest of our customers and can only do so when our system is used properly. Regrettably, your funds can only be recovered from the individual who received the funds. If you believe you are a victim of fraud, you should contact local law enforcement and file a report. Should you decide to contact a law enforcement agency for assistance, we would be more than willing to cooperate in their investigation. "

So they're basically washing their hands of it!
Please any advice appreciated!

Gordon

sorry eth0_ I used to work in a place that did Western Union. It is used as a money laundering facility.

The thing with Greeks is that they usually have at least 2 passports. I know many Greeks that have a Greek passport and an English one - both with different names. They can get credit cards on one and have an awful credit, leave the country and never be found only to return with their other passport.

Oh, I just read what you wrote properly. No it doesn't sound safe at all. All he needs is a good photo ID, passport or drivers licence. Either are easy to forge. That's not just sh*t because it happened but also because you had to pay a sum to do the transaction

I can't see WU sorting you out but I would most certainly pull them up for giving out moneys without the correct holder. Gosh in fact I don't have much advice tbh, maybe this is negatory to your plea.

eth0_

Oh God, I never knew this Gordon! Fu*k!
At least WU are replying to my mails really quickly...just got this:
Hello ,

If you can provide documentation of your father's trip (airline and hotel reservations) for dated before you sent the funds for the next week we will investigate further.

Regards,


Of course I can't provide this information!

spongebob

get the video from the WU office b4 they wipe it, it would be part of a crimininal investigation which may start shortly

eth0_

Originally posted by Muck
get the video from the WU office b4 they wipe it, it would be part of a crimininal investigation which may start shortly

I bet they don't even HAVE cctv
I'll ask them to do that when they reply to my last email muck, thanks.

Victor

Originally posted by eth0_
I'll ask them to do that when they reply to my last email muck, thanks.

Do it now, put the onus on them.

They already have a substantial onus on them to only give the money to the named recipient.

Just say to them your "father" hasn't travelled yet. Or be more honest that you think it may be fraud.

Also write down as many details as you can now.

Make a complaint to the Gardaí.

How did the Greek know which name to look for?

Mention it to Ebay.

eth0_

Originally posted by Victor


How did the Greek know which name to look for?

Mention it to Ebay.

I told himt he receiver name, so he could confirm there was 1000 waiting in athens.

I've emailed ebay already...the seller had been registered about a year at least IIRC, and he had sold stuff before, no negative feedback, and ebay would have his credit card and billing details therefore. So i pleaded my case to them and will see what they can do...

I might contact my credit card company tomorrow, i did pay WU via credit card for the transfer..

spongebob

WU should have the CCTV footage, else they are being compliant in fraud.

the use Sovjohn is in Greece and seems a sound head, PM him for advice maybe?

good luck

Gordon

WU wont have the footage. It is down to the individual shop to keep track of their ccustomers.

Victor

I take it you haven't received the goods.

Go to a WU agent (a lot of Post Offices) and ask them about security, you want to send someone money (speak in teh future tense), you want to make sure only they get the money, do they have a leaflet? Is the money insured?

The Credit Card might get you some protection. Tell the CC company that the money has disappeared at the other end. Ask about insurance on this.

spongebob

ever since 9/11 that excuse went straight out the window for WU , non verification of identity with backup evidence is not an option for security reasons, CCTV is essential.

eth0_

Ok i've made a little progress this morning. The western union customer service people in Ireland are a million times more helpful than the rudeness I experienced with their email support team in the US.

A lady in WU is getting their head office to recover the receivers form that this guy signed to get the money. Not sure what i'm going to do with this but WU seem to have a plan. They didn't mention anything about having to have proof of flight/accomodation.

I rang my credit card company, and they said they would investigate it in a few days once the transaction had been processed fully as they don't have much to go on right now.

And i'm waiting on Ebay to get back to me.

I also have every IP his emails were sent to me from, the one's i've checked so far are all from the same IP block and are registered to the same company.

thegills

etho_0.
E-bay and E-bid is being flooded by Greeks and Romanians selling Plasma TV's and other expensive electronic equipment. They all use WU as it is a safe bet where fraud is concerned.
Don't get your hopes up. I won't say I told you so but you should never send cash in the post like that. Sorry for being pessimistic.
thegills

daveirl

This post has been deleted.

eth0_

Originally posted by thegills
I won't say I told you so but you should never send cash in the post like that. Sorry for being pessimistic.
thegills

I didn't....send....cash...through the post.

No updates. WU PROMISED to call yesterday "whether we've an update or not!". And they didn't.

eth0_

Ok I have an update.
I had to ring the woman who was investigating it there now. After she "promised" to call yesterday "even if I have no news".

She said she posted me a copy of the form the scammer filled in to claim the money and "he had adequate ID to prove he was the person the money was sent to". He was also staying in a hotel in athens.

I asked her where do I go from here then? "emm well...I don't really know...". F*cking biddies.

So I now have: His IP addresses he sent me mails from, the address of the hotel he was staying in (and i'm hoping he paid for the room with a credit card), and whatever info ebay have on him although they're refusing to even give me his ebay ID *rolls eyes*. But I did manage to find it in my IE cache, turns out his account has been suspended.

So it looks like i'll have to go to the police if my credit card company can't do anything.

*sigh*

Ro-76

Unfortunately, Ebay accept no responsibility. They just provide the means by which others can do business. They will suspend someone, but that's about it.

I do think there is an insurance scheme of some sort. I got stung for $50 in my early Ebay years. The excess, and hassle involved meant that I didn't bother to pursue it, but it is worth a try. I think you have to wait 60 days from the end of the transaction before you can claim.

Really it's a criminal fraud issue with WU, so it's the greek authorities you need to deal with IMO.

Ro

eth0_

Originally posted by Ro-76

Really it's a criminal fraud issue with WU, so it's the greek authorities you need to deal with IMO.

Indeed I do. Unfortunately.
I know i'll never, ever deal with WU again. I'm astounded at how insecure their system is. If they even had to ask the person claiming a verification question it'd be a little safer.

Victor

Originally posted by Ro-76
I think you have to wait 60 days from the end of the transaction before you can claim.

Surely you have to claim within 60 days?

Ro-76

I'm certain that the time I tried to claim, there was a minimun period before I could claim, and I'm pretty sure it was 60 days. It's so that both parties have ample time to attempt to resolve the dispute.
Ro

Victor

I saw an ad. for WU yesterday - "Sending money with us is as safe as putting it in their hands yourself", of course that could be read the wrong way.

Any update?

hmmm

sorry about what happened - there's a few scams currently being practiced via WU. Mostly they involve the scammer being in cahoots with someone in his local WU office (or even not local).

The most common scam is for them to tell you to send the money but withold the confirmation number until you get the goods. The scammer goes and bribes/works with someone inside WU and gets the confirmation number through another means, money is gone.

Keep chasing the credit card company imo as your best bet to recover it.

http://msnbc.com/news/773280.asp?0si=-&cp1=1