Scam victims could get a refund from Western Union

RALEIGH (WTVD) -- If you lost money to a scam and it involved transferring money via Western Union, you might be eligible to get your money back. The refund program follows a $586 million settlement with the Western Union Company to resolve charges brought by the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice.

Consumers who lost money between January 1, 2004 and January 19, 2017 can file a claim to get their money back. The deadline to file a claim is February 12, 2018.

The FTC alleges that fraudsters were able to use Western Union's money transfer system to get payments from their victims, even though the company was aware of the problem and received hundreds of thousnds of complaints about fraud-induced money transfers. Many of the scams using the money tranfer system included lottery and prizes, family emergencies, advance-fee loans and online dating.

If you believe you lost money to scammers who used Western Union click here to file your claim.