The Federal Trade Commission reported that Western Union received more than 550,000 complaints from people who had been scammed into completing a Western Union money transfer between January 2004 and August 2015.
Western Union failed to flag transactions it suspected to be criminal, according to the FTC, and agreed to pay $586 million to settle the class-action suit.
If you got suckered — don’t feel bad because many of us have at some point or another — and lost money to a scammer through a Western Union transfer between Jan. 1, 2004, and Jan. 19, 2017, you could qualify for a piece of the settlement.
If you have already reported your losses to the FTC or Western Union, a pre-filled claim form may have shown up in the mail.
If not, your best bet is to file your claim online. Start at the FTC’s Western Union refund site, which will guide you through the steps. You will need to provide your Social Security number, which is why it is safer to do on the secure website than through the mail.
You do not have to pay any money or provide your bank information to get your piece of the settlement.
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