The internet is a very powerful tool for communication and commerce where millions of people can browse to their hearts content, communicate with friends and acquaintances and also shop online. The internet is like a microcosm of society reduced to a series of 1s and 0s. Unfortunately, just like in a real society, bad elements are also part of the landscape and these bad elements usually manifest on the internet in the form of the various scams that victimize thousands of people all over the world.

One of the more notorious scams online is called the Western Union scam. This type of scam is fast becoming the most “popular” and widely spread scams being used by shady elements and scammers on the internet. This type of scam bears a very strong resemblance to the Romanian laptop scam that is also proliferating online.

What is the Western Union scam? The term “Western Union” scam basically encompasses all of the scams being done on the internet where the Western Union method of payment is being employed.

The most common variant of the Western Union scam revolves around a situation wherein a buyer, having browsed through an e-commerce or online auction site pays for an item through Western Union’s payment facility but he never gets the item that he paid for. Alternatively, another situation would be that the buyer would pay for an item using Western Union’s payment facility. He does receive an item, but it is not the same item or it is an item that has a far lower value than what he paid for.

To further illustrate, in the first situation a buyer may have seen a collectible toy in one of the online auction sites and he wins in the bidding. He pays $500 for the item through Western Union’s services but he never gets the collectible item.

With the second situation, the buyer also wins in the bidding for a collectible toy in an online auction site. He pays $500 for the item through Western Union but what he gets instead is an old, ill kept toy that is only worth $25.

This is a bad situation to be in. First, you have basically been robbed of your money. Second, it will be next to impossible to trace the culprits and bring them to justice. The only thing worse than having a crime committed on you is knowing that you will never receive any kind of justice for that wrong doing and that the culprits may, even at this very moment, already hard at work conning other people online.

It is very clear that Western Union is not the right entity or service to use for situations where you want to pay for an online purchase from sellers that you do not know or do not have enough information. Before you start blaming Western Union for the crime and swindling that has victimized so many people on the internet though, please know that even in the Western Union website, there is a clear warning that specifically states that Western Union’s service should not be used for sending money to people who you do not know.

The Western Union scam dissected

The Western Union Scam, like any modus operandi that has proven itself as an effective way of tricking people out of their hard earned money, has taken on many different forms that are directly attributable to the type of items they are used in. Be aware though that even if you think that the transaction or future transaction does not exactly match the scam, it still does not mean that it is not the same scam.

In order to forearm yourself from this type of scam, the best weapon would be knowledge. Knowing beforehand how these scams work would make it easier for you to identify a scam as it happens so that you can avoid being a victim.

In general, try to avoid situations that are similar to these:

* An internet surfer like yourself — while visiting an online auction site, a buy and sell website, or contacted by a seller after placing a bid on a similar item – discovers an item that has a suggested price that is far lower than what would actually be paid for the said item in the market. Be aware that when you are contacted by a “seller”, it will usually be in the form of an email. Because of the proliferation of this scam, the emails sent by these swindlers have been identified to follow the following formats:

1. There is a brief introduction of the seller. He would usually start of with how reliable and trustworthy he is. Sometimes he would say that he is part of a small but reliable company or wholesaler.

2. The seller would then relay how he has noticed that you are bidding on a particular item. He will then offer you the item at a far lower price compared to retail or a price that will be lower than what you would know for the item.

3. The seller will then say that he can only accept payments through Western Union’s money transfer service. He would then try to assuage your doubts by saying that he will be providing you with a shipment tracking number as proof that the item is in fact being sent to your address. Most likely the tracking number is a fake one. There are certain instances when the scammer will say that he is willing to ship the item even before you transfer the money. In this situation, the tracking number is for real. There really is a package being sent your way, but it is either just an empty box or the item is some cheap item and not really what you paid for.

* You determine that it is indeed a very good deal and you ask for more information in order to complete the transaction. The seller then instructs you to send the money though Western Union and asks for the Western Union MTCN # or the money transfer number – these are the numbers used by the scammers to get the money that you sent.

* The moment the scammer gets the MTCN number or the money transfer number he goes to any Western Union branch and gets the money. He now disappears and never contacts you again, leaving you with an empty box, a damaged pride and a hole in your pocket.