What to do if you’ve Lost Money in a Moneygram Scam
February 10th, 2010. By AbiK
Many of you have written in about Moneygram scams. Unfortunately, in the aftermath of Moneygram’s court order to cough up $18 million to the FTC to settle charges of consumer fraud, we’re still receiving numerous accounts from readers who’ve been on the receiving end of a Moneygram scam and who are asking what they should do.
For background, the FTC had sued Moneygram, charging that agents from the money transfer service helped fraudulent telemarketers and con artists who tricked consumers into wiring in excess of $84M within US and Canada. The fraudulent activity occured between 2004 and 2008. The $84M in losses was based on consumer complaints that Moneygram received—and the FTC estimates that the figure is actually larger (i.e., not all victims would have filed a complaint with Moneygram).
First, the court order, from last October, is requiring Moneygram to not only pay the $18 million to the FTC—which is to be used to provide redress to consumers—but also requires Moneygram to do the following:
- Not knowingly provide substantial help or support to any sellers or telemarketers that are violating the Telemarketing Sales Rule.
- Implement a comprehensive anti-fraud program, that includes background checks on prospective agents; consumer fraud education and training for Moneygram’s employees; agent monitoring; and disciplinary action for those agents who do not comply with the rules.
- Provide a clear and conspicuous fraud warning on the front of all its money transfer forms.
- Develop and maintain a system for receiving consumer complaints and data, and to provide that information to the FTC upon request.
- Take all reasonable steps to identify agents who are involved in fraud. This means Moneygram must review its transaction data to identify any unusual or suspicious activity by its agents and fire any agent who it believes may be participating in fraudulent activities; additionally, Moneygram must fire or suspend any agent who has not taken appropriate steps to stop fraudulent money transfers.
That’s all lovely of course, but what do you do if you’ve been the victim of a Moneygram scam?
If you’ve lost money in a Moneygram scam, here’s what to do:
- If you have already filed a complaint with Moneygram, there is no need to do anything further at this time.
- If you have NOT filed a complaint with Moneygram, you need to do so. Call Moneygram at 1-800-Moneygram to file your complaint.
- The FTC is working on developing a refund program to appropriately distribute the $18M, however, given that the settlement is capped at $18M, the FTC is alerting consumers to that fact that they will only be eligible for a partial refund (i.e., so don’t expect to recover all monies you may have lost as a result of the scam).
- If you do participate in the refund program, you will not give up your legal rights (translation: you can still pursue legal recourse).
We’ll keep monitoring the situation, but you can also call the FTC for updates as well at 202-326-3755.
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Where can I find out what type of method was used to come to an amount for each consumer? I was scammed out of $1,250.00 and received a settlement of $97.50. The $97.50 is not even even 10% of what I lost.
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admin Reply:
May 3rd, 2010 at 4:44 am
Hi Loretta, I'm not sure by your comment exactly which settlement you're referring to, so it's a bit of a challenge to reply with any specifics. I will say though, that the amount of any given class action settlement is often lower than what an individual claimant might expect–or have lost. It's the nature of the beast; on the upside, a class action allows for many individuals to be able to even have their beef heard in court–litigation on an individual basis can be very costly; on the downside, because the "class"–ie, the collective group of plaintiffs–must meet the requirement of "commonality", individual damages are viewed collectively. So regardless of whether one claimant's damages were $5,000 (hypothetically) and another's were $1,000, both will receive the small amount come settlement time. You can read more about class actions in our Pleading Ignorance columns as well.
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admin Reply:
May 3rd, 2010 at 4:44 am
Hi Loretta, I'm not sure by your comment exactly which settlement you're referring to, so it's a bit of a challenge to reply with any specifics. I will say though, that the amount of any given class action settlement is often lower than what an individual claimant might expect–or have lost. It's the nature of the beast; on the upside, a class action allows for many individuals to be able to even have their beef heard in court–litigation on an individual basis can be very costly; on the downside, because the "class"–ie, the collective group of plaintiffs–must meet the requirement of "commonality", individual damages are viewed collectively. So regardless of whether one claimant's damages were $5,000 (hypothetically) and another's were $1,000, both will receive the small amount come settlement time. You can read more about class actions in our Pleading Ignorance columns as well.
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My dad fell for a scam today that had him send money from Walmart Money Gram to Ontario Canada. The caller said it was my brother (there son) who was in a auto accident and did not take out insurance on the rental car and they required $3,000 for the damage or would not let him leave the country and would miss his flight. Anyways the other party picked up the money before my dad figured it out by calling my brothers cell ph to make sure was alright after the fact.
Filed a police report and a claim at money gram. They would not disclose which money gram location the scammer picked up the money or contact that location to make them aware a scam had happened and try to see if any video tape of the person who got the money, etc. Thy said all that we do is fil out a claim ticket and move on and not able to speak to anyone else.
If I got a call that a fraud happened at my business I would work with the potential consumer not be rude.
Anything updated that my dad could do or any other suggestions at this point?
David
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admin Reply:
May 6th, 2010 at 11:33 am
Hi David H, Thanks for your comment–it triggered an immediate reaction in me and I posted an update on the Moneygram situation just now. Unfortunately, you’ve taken most of the “correct” steps. The only other things to do are to file a complaint with the FTC–the link and phone number are in the post that just went up.. you can also contact a lawyer to review the details of your case. You can fill out a claim form on our site here if you’d like (it’s free) and it will be sent out to attorneys for review. It’s a challenging issue as the “true” perpetrator was apparently some guy up in Canada that you don’t really have–or haven’t been privy to–any info on. However, as you can see by the FTCs actions with Moneygram, Moneygram was not immune to reprimand. I’m truly sorry your father was the victim of such a scam. Keep us posted on your progress and good luck. -Abi
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admin Reply:
May 6th, 2010 at 11:33 am
Hi David H, Thanks for your comment–it triggered an immediate reaction in me and I posted an update on the Moneygram situation just now. Unfortunately, you’ve taken most of the “correct” steps. The only other things to do are to file a complaint with the FTC–the link and phone number are in the post that just went up.. you can also contact a lawyer to review the details of your case. You can fill out a claim form on our site here if you’d like (it’s free) and it will be sent out to attorneys for review. It’s a challenging issue as the “true” perpetrator was apparently some guy up in Canada that you don’t really have–or haven’t been privy to–any info on. However, as you can see by the FTCs actions with Moneygram, Moneygram was not immune to reprimand. I’m truly sorry your father was the victim of such a scam. Keep us posted on your progress and good luck. -Abi
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Hi…back in 2005-2006 I was scammed out of 4000 dollars through money gram at a walmart near me. I filed a report at the State Troopers and with the FBI on their website….will I get a piece of the lawsuit? I didn't file a complaint with money gram because I didn't think they would do anything about it. My money ended up going to Amsterdam, Netherlands. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to recover any of the money I lost back then. I can go to the Troopers and try to get a copy of the police report if needed.
Thank you,
Jon
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Jonathan W Reply:
June 3rd, 2010 at 12:02 pm
Also, It was on a vehicle in Maryland but apparently international people were aloud to pick up my money even though I specified that I didn't NOT want it available internationally. The address in Maryland was legit too and that's why I fell for it.
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admin Reply:
June 3rd, 2010 at 2:53 pm
Hi Jonathan, I'd give it a try by filing your complaint w/the FTC (ie, the details given in the post); you were scammed during the timeframe that they've identified, so it's certainly worth a shot…
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Jonathan W Reply:
June 3rd, 2010 at 12:02 pm
Also, It was on a vehicle in Maryland but apparently international people were aloud to pick up my money even though I specified that I didn't NOT want it available internationally. The address in Maryland was legit too and that's why I fell for it.
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admin Reply:
June 3rd, 2010 at 2:53 pm
Hi Jonathan, I'd give it a try by filing your complaint w/the FTC (ie, the details given in the post); you were scammed during the timeframe that they've identified, so it's certainly worth a shot…
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Hi,
I just received money from a moneygram, how will I know if the money being sent to me is bogus or not?
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admin Reply:
June 7th, 2010 at 10:21 am
Hi Laura V, I can't say for sure, but usually one of the main ways you know it's not legit is if you knew nothing about receiving any kind of moneygram, and suddenly you're receiving one…best to be wary…
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admin Reply:
June 7th, 2010 at 10:21 am
Hi Laura V, I can't say for sure, but usually one of the main ways you know it's not legit is if you knew nothing about receiving any kind of moneygram, and suddenly you're receiving one…best to be wary…
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I received a check from ftc v money gram is this check legit. i was scam and reported to moneygram the agent was very helpful in helping me report.
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In July 2008, my husband fell for a scam that was supposedly posted online at Online Outpost with all the bells and whistles, except that the scammers used the number 0 for one of the letters O in the URL. I did not realize this until he did not receive the mower. We were asked to send a Moneygram to a man in TX since the seller was in Alaska. I have every email. receipt for Moneygram, both the seller's and Moneygram "agent's" name, as well as phone numbers. I contacted the state police at that time, but did not contact the attorney general's office, is it too late? Would this be considered a Moneygram scam or just an Internet scam? Thanks, shwoods
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admin Reply:
September 6th, 2010 at 7:24 pm
Hi Sherri, I'm sorry to hear about your husband getting scammed–and that's a common method by the way–to have a URL slightly modified just enough to be different but not really perceptible. I'd go ahead and also notify the folks at Moneygram as well. It's definitely an internet scam, but given the use of Moneygram, it's a Moneygram scam too. It is probably a bit late to notify other authorities–particularly if the scammer URL is no longer in use, which I'm guessing after two years it probably is not…
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admin Reply:
September 6th, 2010 at 7:24 pm
Hi Sherri, I'm sorry to hear about your husband getting scammed–and that's a common method by the way–to have a URL slightly modified just enough to be different but not really perceptible. I'd go ahead and also notify the folks at Moneygram as well. It's definitely an internet scam, but given the use of Moneygram, it's a Moneygram scam too. It is probably a bit late to notify other authorities–particularly if the scammer URL is no longer in use, which I'm guessing after two years it probably is not…
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I was ordering a animal, and the lady asked me to pay with money gram and I did. She took the money, never sent the animal, and didn't reply to my emails. She also stopped replying as soon as she got the money. She said she will send me some money back (long story, for something else) and she didn't. She never told me her phone number so I had too look it up on the web. I will call her and ask her whats going on. There wasn't a lot of money spent but it was my childs money, (She wanted to pay for the dog) and I feel really bad. Also here, its very bad economy and $200 is a lot for a child, and we can't refund her with the money right now. So we have $-200 and no animal and a sad child. Please help! (I know this has nothing to do with money gram but still)
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