Can someone pick up funds in Western Union without the MTCN?

sumbeach222 · #1 22 January 2008, 03:44

I've got a company that says that they want me to make a payment through western union to their Hong Kong office and SEAL the MTCN and send a scan receipt of payment and they will ship out your my order. THen they will send me a tracking number. When I receive the items and I'm happy with the product then I can release the MTCN to them.

My question is... can someone get their money without the MTCN?

Does this look like a "safe" transaction or am I being gullible...?

SUMBEACH!

Daneel · #2 22 January 2008, 07:16

Yes, it sounds like a common scammer trick. Scammers can pick up WU payments with only very little information about the transfer, with a fake ID and/or a bribe. And normally in most countries when you pick up a WU payment you only need to show ID, the MTCN is mostly used by scammers.

fedupwithscammers42 · #3 19 March 2008, 03:48

How does this scam work ? Or is it for real ?
This is an email a friend sent to me he is buying something from someone who is in France supposedly. I think its a scam but not sure how it works

"Seems like it..he just asked me that if I can send western union to any name like you or something and once I receive the goods, I am to change the name and give him the info he needs to pick it up...does that sound legit to you?"

Daneel · #4 19 March 2008, 04:03

Yep, it's the same trick, it's quite common.

You should only use WU with people you already know intimately, never to pay a stranger over the internet. It's the favorite payment method of scammers as it's untraceable and anonymous.

poirot · #5 19 March 2008, 23:08

French scammers in Benin have been using that trick for quite some time. Their bogus web site often describe this as a secure payment. You hold on to the MTCN and the Question and Answer until the merchandise has been delivered. They then retrieve the payment with little information and fake i.d. as Daneel says.

The worse part is that quite a few victims claimed they inquired with the WU clerk before sending, and where assured that the money couldn't be retrieved without the MTCN number, when in fact Western Union themselves have information posted to the contrary such as here (French)

In Belgium, Western Union in collaboration with the Belgium police and Ebay, as part of an information campain launched by Regional Computer Crime Unit de Tournai, have posted in all post affices, large signs that states "A stranger asks you to pay for an Internet purchase using Western Union?...REFUSE!"
The French news article