Walmart To Pay $10M After Scammers Exploit Money Transfer Services, FTC Says
Following allegations by federal regulators that the corporation allowed scammers to steal hundreds of millions of dollars from Americans, Walmart has agreed to pay $10 million and modify its money transfer procedures.
An outside sign of a Walmart shop.
The Federal Trade Commission said Friday, June 20 that Walmart had reached a settlement and agreed to the amount. The final order was unanimously approved by the three commissioners of the agency.
Between 2013 and 2018, the retail behemoth was accused by the FTC of permitting fraudsters to abuse its wire transfer services.
Christopher Mufarrige, head of the FTC’s consumer protection division, stated that “one of the most common ways that scammers tell consumers to send them money is through electronic money transfers, because once it’s sent, it’s gone for good.” “Companies that provide these services must train their employees to comply with the law and work to protect consumers.”
According to the complaint, Walmart neglected to implement fundamental anti-fraud procedures while serving as an agent for MoneyGram, Western Union, and Ria. The business was also charged with failing to adequately train staff members and failing to alert clients to wire transfer frauds.
In July 2024, a federal judge rejected the FTC’s initial lawsuit in 2022 that was later broadened to include telemarketing breaches in 2023. When Walmart was granted permission by a federal appeals court to contest the previous decisions in November 2024, the dispute took a new direction.
Walmart must take further steps to identify and stop fraudulent wire transfers, according to a final order the agency obtained. Additionally, the settlement prohibits the business from disbursing funds that it knows or willfully disregards are associated with a hoax.
Additionally, Walmart is not allowed to assist telemarketers that want cash-to-cash transfers in exchange for goods, services, donations, loans, or credit under the terms of the agreement.
