HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF AGAINST FRAUD                                           

Millions of people transfer money to their relatives throughout the world every day. To enable you to protect yourself as effec­tively as possible against fraud, it is important for you to always remain vigilant about whom you are transferring money to. The following information will help you achieve this.

Be careful about transferring money for the following purposes:

• Auctions, orders or purchases on the Internet, especially concerning extremely cheap equipment or items.
• If someone asks you to pay taxes or fees for alleged lot­tery winnings or prizes that have supposedly been won.
• If you are supposed to make advance payments or pay fees in order to receive a loan.
• In response to investment offers that allegedly promise high rates of return. Such offers are usually received by e-mail or by way of a letter.
• If someone asks you to act as "financial agent" and to transfer cash amounts credited to your account to anoth­er country for a commission.
• If you have been asked to pay the expenses incurred by the finder for the return of lost valuables or animals that have run away.

ALWAYS ASK YOURSELF THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS

• Is what I am supposed to be doing really sensible?
• Who will be receiving the money? Do I know the beneficiary personally, and is he or she entirely trustworthy?
• Should I disclose confidential information with an unknown person?
• Isn’t the offer too favourable or expressed differently “too good, to be true”?
• Do I really need to transfer the money immediately?

ACT RESPONSIBLY and only transfer money to people you know personally, or whose identity you can verify clearly!

Remain aware of the following risks:

• Beneficiaries with fraudulent intent will often ask the person sending the money to state a fictitious beneficiary name for the transaction as a presumed security measure. After the goods have been received, the person sending the money is supposed to have the fictitious name changed to the true beneficiary's name so that he or she can collect the money. Such fraudulent beneficiaries could then arrange to have a forged passport or ID card produced in the fictitious person's name and uses this to col­lect the money before the person sending the money has received his or her goods. These would accordingly also never arrive.
• The money will be available for collection by the beneficiary immediately after you as the sender have been given the money transfer control number (MTCN). This 10-digit, randomly gener­ated number offers no kind of security, as it is not always mandatory for the beneficiary to cite this number before he or she is able to collect the money.
• Normally, test questions may only be asked if the recipient can not present valid ID and the transferred amount payable is not higher than USD 1000 (or the equivalent in local currency). Before paying out a transferred amount, however, the Western Union Agent is always obliged to find out the answer to a test question, even if the recipient is able to present a valid ID. Test questions do not provide additional security, however, and must not be used to time or delay the implementation of a transac­tion. In some countries, test questions are not permitted.
• If someone asks you to act as a financial agent, or asks you to send cash to another person abroad for a commission, we urgently advise you not to accept this offer. The money involved is usually money that was obtained fraudulently and is to be sent abroad as quickly as possible. Such transactions are often preceded by phishing attacks in which the account details of third parties were obtained by thievous methods. Be particularly cautious, even if you are promised a work contract with payment of wages or a salary - if you accept, you could be prosecuted for money laundry and unlawful offering of financial services.

I M P O R T A N T!

If you have just made a cash transaction and suspect that you have fallen victim to fraud, please ask bank clerk to stop the payment immediately, or contact the hotline indicated in this internet site without delay.

We would like to protect our customers and also our representatives!

Therefore we refuse to carry out transactions, if we have concrete reasons to suspect fraudulent intentions on the part of the recipient.