Stay away from someone wanting 'westernunion.com' as payment?

[wangchunggti337]

I was going to buy an item over a forum using paypal, but the seller said they had 'bad experiences with paypal'. Which seemed bogus to me.

They wanted to use 'westernunion.com' instead. I would only do so if I could pay less than half of the payment until receiving the item. Does this seem fair? Or should I just run away?

 

[wangchunggti337]

Oh yeah, one more detail. Payment is to US not some random overseas country.

 

[robbieduncan]

Just run away. If that's the only option they will accept then they are 90% likely to be a scammer. Scammers like WU as once the money is sent you can never get it back via WU.

 

[Mydel]

Just run away.

Hmmm I asked couple times for WU ....and I'm really not a scammer. I sent out an item and everything was OK...

 

[robbieduncan]

Hmmm I asked couple times for WU ....and I'm really not a scammer. I sent out an item and everything was OK...

Unfortunately the use of WU by scammers has probably ruined it for the genuine people.

 

[wangchunggti337]

I'm planned on only sending $20 before I got the item. But part of me is thinking not to bother at all.

Any other signs I should look for?

 

[robbieduncan]

Have you got verifiable real-world contact details. If they will not give you some sort of verifiable street address and/or a land-line number then ask yourself why...

 

[furious]

I have had no problems with western union before. I do always get a verifiable address and phone number thought.

 

[CanadaRAM]

The problem is not with Western Union (except maybe their fees).

The problem is that once you have sent the wire transfer out, you cannot get it back, and you cannot trace who picked it up, their address, or anything.

So if they subsequently do not send you the goods, you are totally and absolutely out of luck. You may as well have mailed cash.

There is no security and no complaint process to grieve a fraudulent seller.


THAT's why a scammer loves to use Western Union.

Remember that half of the payment is still $20 in his pocket and out of yours.

 

[skubish]

WU=scam period end of discussion.

It maybe be legit but not worth the chance.

 

[wangchunggti337]

So even with a verified address and phone number it's still not legit?

I realize there is no complaint system, but if I have their info there is still nothing I can do.

They also offered to drop my item off to some friends of mine that happen to live near the seller, but not until payment was received. So that could also be a good/bad sign.

 

[jtown]

So even with a verified address and phone number it's still not legit?

I realize there is no complaint system, but if I have their info there is still nothing I can do.

They also offered to drop my item off to some friends of mine that happen to live near the seller, but not until payment was received. So that could also be a good/bad sign.

WTF? You're not comfortable with the transaction. Drop it and move on. Find someone selling the item locally so you can go pick it up or buy it through a system like ebay/paypal which offers some form of purchase protection and dispute resolution.

 

[Eraserhead]

Why not use another similar service (such as Moneybookers, which Wikipedia like), or an escrow?

 

[Roy Hobbs]

Western Union is a very reputable service. Its been around way longer than Paypal

 

[CanadaRAM]

Western Union is a very reputable service. Its been around way longer than Paypal

Umm, yeah, they have been around since the first days of the Telegraph, just a little longer than PayPal...

As mentioned -- the problem is not WU, it's their ability (and history) to be abused by scam sellers...

 

[richard4339]

I would definately recommend something along the lines of escrow.com. Hell, offer to pay the escrow.com fees. If they move away from wanting to use THAT, it's more than likely a scam.