Walmart Lists “Sending Someone Money” As A Reason You Shouldn’t Wire Money To Someone

Walmart says you might want to think twice about sending someone money if sending someone money is the reason you are sending someone money.

Walmart says you might want to think about sending someone money if sending someone money is the reason you are sending someone money.

A lot of international fraud scams involve having to wire money to the scammers, and they’ve become so commonplace that operators of wire services like Western Union train employees to keep an eye out for red flags indicating a possible scam might be occurring. But we think this warning sign from Walmart and MoneyGram might be a little too over-cautious.

Consumerist reader Dave spotted the sign at his local Walmart and noticed that, among the good advice like not wiring money in order to claim a lottery or sweepstakes prize, or thinking twice about that family member stuck in Canada with a medical emergency, there was a puzzler of a scam indicator: “Sending someone money.”

“So, if I should be suspect of ‘sending someone money,’ when exactly should I feel okay about using this service?” asks Dave, who sent in the image using the Consumerist Tipster app. “Apparently Walmart thinks the whole notion of wiring money is a shaky idea.”

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