Sending Money Via Western Union Type Service: A Scam Every Time
Post 1 of 213
There are so many scammers on this site, it can be downright hard work trying to find the legitimate ones. So let me give you the best advice I possibly can: I do not care what someone tells you, how many pictures of their "alleged" products they have, as soon as they mention the word "Western Union" or any other type of money wiring, IT IS A SCAM.
These types of services are for
1. People that do not have bank accounts
2. Money as a gift
3. To pay a bill (i.e. car payment).
If you send someone money this way, plan on never getting it back. Legitimate companies will NEVER EVER ask you to pay this way.(Ask yourself, when have you ever bought something from a store, and you "Moneygrammed" your payment for it?) If you need more proof, just browse through this forum of hundreds of people that are trying to find ways to get their money back.
This is my recent experience: I was dealing with a company I thought was legit. I checked them out on the internet, and it was an actual electronics company in Hong Kong. However, this guy had a free yahoo address(Why not have an email address from the company?) And when I checked out the IP address from the emails, they were traced to Nigeria. Then when he sent an email stating that method of Payment was Western Union, I knew he was a scammer. Also, the name he said to wire the money to was completely different, a 'Aletor Itua'; When I searched this name, I found endless articles of people being scammed from this same person. For fun, I emailed the scammer, telling him that I won't do Western Union, and recommended Escrow.com. This is the email I received back:
"this is my HONG KONG NATIONAL ID CARD,i have never done this before not even to the most trusted customer i will not send my ID card to that person the reason is that here in HONG KONG anyone could be easily located and arrested wherever you are so everyone here in HONG KONG do not give out there ID CARD but i have decided do this because of what you said in the content of your first mail and you wanted someone who could work with you to achieve success . The person that taught you and gave you all those informations are very correct but i want to inform you that if there are bad people in business there are also good people , 10 bad fruits on a tree does not make the whole fruits on the tree bad i want to assure you of a good deal you just wait and see also i want you to know that western union is not established for bad transaction western union is a legal means , but bad people just want to make it bad also do you know that there have been recent reports of cheat via paypal, escrow mr peter with this email bp20002003@yahoo.co.uk was cheated of about 13,000 dolars via paypal escrow but when he met me today he his happy as he bought goods worth 1800 dollars and he his happy in conclusion it is not method of payment that really matters what matters is the person that you wants to buy from , i have conscience oaky and i have promised myself to be good always and not cheat anyone i want to assure you that you are ina a safe hand just go ahead and send the money right now and give me the MTCN today and i will get back to your email with the FEDEX shipment tracking numkber today take me for my word i am expecting to hear from you N.B . please please please my national id card i send to you is my life please , i will send your item and also to the second address immediatelly i get the MTCN after you have your items i will require you to inform me . THANKS. Stephen Lai "
REMEMBER THEY ARE GOOD.....THEY MAKE A LIVING THIS WAY!
We are all keeping the scammers thriving by falling for their tricks. Please, please please do your research, and keep your money safe by only dealing with legitimate companies with legitimate payment methods, like www.escrow.com. I posted an ad for wanting to buy Nintendo Wii's, and I received over 40 responses- all fake. Be Careful and be Wise. I HAVE STARTED A WEBSITE FOR ALL OF US HONEST PEOPLE TO TELL OUR STORIES, GET HELP, AND STOP THESE SCAMMERS. Email me for more information at helpIwasscammed@yahoo.com, and visit my fraud website at http://www.helpiwasscammed.com![[em14]](http://img.alibaba.com/images/eng/style/icon/emoticons_embrace.gif)
NOTE: I have no idea why, but if you send me an email from a gmail account, I will not be able to respond to you. I apologize for the inconvenience.
These types of services are for
1. People that do not have bank accounts
2. Money as a gift
3. To pay a bill (i.e. car payment).
If you send someone money this way, plan on never getting it back. Legitimate companies will NEVER EVER ask you to pay this way.(Ask yourself, when have you ever bought something from a store, and you "Moneygrammed" your payment for it?) If you need more proof, just browse through this forum of hundreds of people that are trying to find ways to get their money back.
This is my recent experience: I was dealing with a company I thought was legit. I checked them out on the internet, and it was an actual electronics company in Hong Kong. However, this guy had a free yahoo address(Why not have an email address from the company?) And when I checked out the IP address from the emails, they were traced to Nigeria. Then when he sent an email stating that method of Payment was Western Union, I knew he was a scammer. Also, the name he said to wire the money to was completely different, a 'Aletor Itua'; When I searched this name, I found endless articles of people being scammed from this same person. For fun, I emailed the scammer, telling him that I won't do Western Union, and recommended Escrow.com. This is the email I received back:
"this is my HONG KONG NATIONAL ID CARD,i have never done this before not even to the most trusted customer i will not send my ID card to that person the reason is that here in HONG KONG anyone could be easily located and arrested wherever you are so everyone here in HONG KONG do not give out there ID CARD but i have decided do this because of what you said in the content of your first mail and you wanted someone who could work with you to achieve success . The person that taught you and gave you all those informations are very correct but i want to inform you that if there are bad people in business there are also good people , 10 bad fruits on a tree does not make the whole fruits on the tree bad i want to assure you of a good deal you just wait and see also i want you to know that western union is not established for bad transaction western union is a legal means , but bad people just want to make it bad also do you know that there have been recent reports of cheat via paypal, escrow mr peter with this email bp20002003@yahoo.co.uk was cheated of about 13,000 dolars via paypal escrow but when he met me today he his happy as he bought goods worth 1800 dollars and he his happy in conclusion it is not method of payment that really matters what matters is the person that you wants to buy from , i have conscience oaky and i have promised myself to be good always and not cheat anyone i want to assure you that you are ina a safe hand just go ahead and send the money right now and give me the MTCN today and i will get back to your email with the FEDEX shipment tracking numkber today take me for my word i am expecting to hear from you N.B . please please please my national id card i send to you is my life please , i will send your item and also to the second address immediatelly i get the MTCN after you have your items i will require you to inform me . THANKS. Stephen Lai "
REMEMBER THEY ARE GOOD.....THEY MAKE A LIVING THIS WAY!
We are all keeping the scammers thriving by falling for their tricks. Please, please please do your research, and keep your money safe by only dealing with legitimate companies with legitimate payment methods, like www.escrow.com. I posted an ad for wanting to buy Nintendo Wii's, and I received over 40 responses- all fake. Be Careful and be Wise. I HAVE STARTED A WEBSITE FOR ALL OF US HONEST PEOPLE TO TELL OUR STORIES, GET HELP, AND STOP THESE SCAMMERS. Email me for more information at helpIwasscammed@yahoo.com, and visit my fraud website at http://www.helpiwasscammed.com
NOTE: I have no idea why, but if you send me an email from a gmail account, I will not be able to respond to you. I apologize for the inconvenience. Hot Topic Recommend
27 Mar 2007 21:53
Post 2 of 213
Replying to [inwilddreams]:It has been my experience here that 99% of the companies replying to me to not accept paypal, only Wire transfer or Western Union.
29 Mar 2007 03:49
Post 3 of 213
Replying to [Business in China]:
To Business in China.
OK! If Chinese companies or supplier are so HONEST, why do don't accept a Credit Card payments. I have credit limit up to $ 100,000 (USA) but any time I have to purchase something in China, either I have to hire my neighbor and pay her the ticket to fly to China and do all transaction for me or I purchase from somebody else in USA, of cause more expensive, but 100% safe.
Can you give ALL US FROM THE WEST AN HONEST ANSWER?
Thanks.
To Business in China.
OK! If Chinese companies or supplier are so HONEST, why do don't accept a Credit Card payments. I have credit limit up to $ 100,000 (USA) but any time I have to purchase something in China, either I have to hire my neighbor and pay her the ticket to fly to China and do all transaction for me or I purchase from somebody else in USA, of cause more expensive, but 100% safe.
Can you give ALL US FROM THE WEST AN HONEST ANSWER?
Thanks.
29 Mar 2007 05:35
Post 4 of 213
Replying to [inwilddreams]:
That's true, thereare many scammers that ask for WU payment. I have been deceived too. However, being in import business for some years, there are legit companies in China that ask for Western Union and they do deliver. One reason for WU payment convinience is the cost of a wire transfer. If you are a small size importer, and you just start doing business with a Chinese company, you just can't buy big volume. So if you buy samples for 100 -200 USD, and the cost of a transfer is $30, is that worthy? I don't think so. In our case, in Dominican Republic, we have to pay $40 USD for a transfer... imagine making a transfer of $100 :-)
Also, T/T take 4 days, WU is instant. Just find a legit company.
I do a company background seacrh, I ask, I inquire, etc, and when i feel comfortable, then I proceed to buy. So WU is ok if your supplier is legit. Finding who is legit is the real dilema.
That's true, thereare many scammers that ask for WU payment. I have been deceived too. However, being in import business for some years, there are legit companies in China that ask for Western Union and they do deliver. One reason for WU payment convinience is the cost of a wire transfer. If you are a small size importer, and you just start doing business with a Chinese company, you just can't buy big volume. So if you buy samples for 100 -200 USD, and the cost of a transfer is $30, is that worthy? I don't think so. In our case, in Dominican Republic, we have to pay $40 USD for a transfer... imagine making a transfer of $100 :-)
Also, T/T take 4 days, WU is instant. Just find a legit company.
I do a company background seacrh, I ask, I inquire, etc, and when i feel comfortable, then I proceed to buy. So WU is ok if your supplier is legit. Finding who is legit is the real dilema.
29 Mar 2007 08:11
Post 5 of 213
Replying to [inwilddreams]:
What didn't really come totally across is that scammers tell you many true things. They are very careful and only lie regarding the few key items that require to be altered.
It is true that Western Union as such is an honest company - so is PayPal. The only problem is that both CAN easily be used for scams, but it doesn't necessarily have to be that way. Some members of this forum expressed very valid reasons for using these services, and they remain valid, despite of the scamming.
Bottom line: always do your homework! Don't assume anything; not for the better, not for the worse.
Germex
What didn't really come totally across is that scammers tell you many true things. They are very careful and only lie regarding the few key items that require to be altered.
It is true that Western Union as such is an honest company - so is PayPal. The only problem is that both CAN easily be used for scams, but it doesn't necessarily have to be that way. Some members of this forum expressed very valid reasons for using these services, and they remain valid, despite of the scamming.
Bottom line: always do your homework! Don't assume anything; not for the better, not for the worse.
Germex
29 Mar 2007 10:14
Post 6 of 213
A company trust pass with verification the ACP customer from 2005 has said that bank transfer only made it for advanced orders to 20 units of the product, I to me has chosen 5 for a cost of 400 euro and it has said to me that for small orders therefore was used western union. I ask to you if a company trustpass is verified with the ACP is sure to 100%?
30 Mar 2007 09:13
Post 7 of 213
Replying to [inwilddreams]: It is an obvious sign of scammers when they request such payments. I cannot undertsand why anyone that is on these forums even considers sending $ via TT or WU anymore and that some even go ahead with such payments and get burned. Then they complain they fell victim to a scammer. bizarre.
30 Mar 2007 14:39
Post 8 of 213
Replying to [MsAngela]:Hi,Ms Angela,thanks for your sharing and sorry for you were scammed by inhonest supplier...just as some guys mentioned before,it'd better for buyers to try some trustable payment ways like Paypal...but sometimes,you have to admit that Western union is the best/fast way to send payment in urgently,in fact,it takes too much long time for Chinese people to withdraw money from Paypal.even hard to get Paypal account verified...so about payment methods,it's better for buyers find honest and trustable suppliers first.
31 Mar 2007 22:12
Post 9 of 213
Replying to [inwilddreams]:![[em6]](http://img.alibaba.com/images/eng/style/icon/emoticons_rage.gif)
Hello,
I am one of those guys that has been scam. They were a Alibaba gold member. How do I find them? You seem to have more resources than I.
Please tell,
Ken
Hello,
I am one of those guys that has been scam. They were a Alibaba gold member. How do I find them? You seem to have more resources than I.
Please tell,
Ken
01 Apr 2007 07:09
Post 10 of 213
Replying to [inwilddreams]:hi, I don't agree with your opinion that anyone who asks to pay by Western Union is scammer. everything should be viewed in positive and negative. I sometimes ask my customer to pay by Western Union. for some sample,small order or customers ask shipping by courier or some products without tax refund favor. Could you say that I'm a scammer?no, I never cheat in any customers.
Even as you say, momey should only be transfered to legalimated company account. can you assure not be scammed?in international business it really depends on the businessmen's personal credit and the country's legal surroundings.
Even as you say, momey should only be transfered to legalimated company account. can you assure not be scammed?in international business it really depends on the businessmen's personal credit and the country's legal surroundings.
02 Apr 2007 01:48
![[em7]](http://img.alibaba.com/images/eng/style/icon/emoticons_shy.gif){kind=icon}