Western Union, Better Business Bureau team up to stop scams

Western Union has a new partnership with the Better Business Bureau aimed at thwarting wires before money makes it into the hands of any criminals.

For years, criminals have used Western Union to steal people’s money. Going back to last decade, we got calls on the show from people who reported having thousands stolen by crooks convincing you they had a path to wealth for you.

One popular ploy involved being told you were doing quality control work for logisitics companies like FedEx and UPS. You’d get a package from FedEx that was then promptly picked up by UPS, or vice versa.

So you’d write a glowing review about both companies, praising them for their efficiency as a secret shopper. But you were really just an intermediary for thieves and the police would show up at your door for fencing stolen goods.

Now as more people have gotten wise to this kind of thing, the scam has switched to you being told to go buy a Wal-Mart stored value care and call the criminals with the code.

Remember, any time somebody you’ve never laid eyes on promises you a great way to make you money, and it involves you send them money or you sending it to them, it’s a rip-off.