The Delaware Department of Justice Consumer Protection Unit announced the process for filing claims for restitution for Delaware residents tricked into sending payments to scammers using Western Union has opened. The reimbursements come as the result of a settlement between Western Union and a group of 49 states plus the District of Columbia, born out of an investigation into complaints from consumers who used the wire service to send money to third parties involved in schemes to defraud consumers.

Anyone who believes they could be eligible for reimbursement and has not already filed with Western Union or the Delaware Department of Justice should do so by going to http://www.westernunionremission.com/. Between 650,000 and 750,000 consumers around the country already identified as possible victims that may be eligible to receive the restitution will get claims forms from the claims administrator.

The settlement announced in January required Western Union to develop and put into action a comprehensive anti-fraud program designed to help detect and prevent incidents where consumers use Western Union to wire money to scam artists.

The settlement also called for Western Union to pay $586 million to a fund administered by the U.S. Department of Justice to provide refunds to consumers, as well as paying an amount to the states to cover the costs associated with the investigations that led to the settlements. Delaware received $43,630 for the state Consumer Protection Fund that handled the investigation, led by Deputy Attorney General Christian Wright.

The announcement of the settlement can be found here.

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