Leslie Kish | Director, Operations & Accreditation

Earlier this week, the FTC announced that MoneyGram International, Inc. has agreed to pay 18 million dollars in consumer redress to settle charges that the money-transfer company allowed its system to be used to bilk consumers out of tens of millions of dollars. The company has also agreed to implement anti-fraud monitoring programs.

David C. Valdeck, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection stated that “Money transfer services have a responsibility to make sure their systems don’t become conduits to rip people off. In this case, MoneyGram not only ducked this responsibility, but also looked the other way while its agents took part in the scams.”

The FTC also posted a new consumer alert on its website titled “Money Transfers Can Be Risky Business”. Check it out for tips on avoiding telemarketing and money transfer fraud.

If you or someone you know has been a victim of one of these scams, call the FTC at 202.326.3755 to learn more about the redress administration process. We’d like to hear your money transfer scam stories, please comment.