Petition the government to make WU more transparent

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419Eater is my life Joined: 29 Oct 2005 Posts: 266

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/InterFraud/

If it works.... it should make things a little bit harder for lads Smile

Posted: Fri Oct 02, 2009 7:50 am

Quote:

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Ensure that Western Union and other payment service providers will inform Internet fraud victims of the address at which criminals collected their money.

What good will that do? I'm sure the police could get that info if they were investigating a particular fraud, but the problem is that they rarely do investigate 419. Insufficent resources and little chance of catching the scammer.

Quote:

Britain will remain a safe haven for fraud criminals - and more of them will seek to settle here.

Eh? Uk based lads are only a very small proportion of the title.
I got a virus warning when I visited InterFraud.org, so be careful.

Posted: Fri Oct 02, 2009 9:28 am

^^ I agree that it is likely to have little or no effect on lads, BUT....

to take no action is to admit defeat to them, so on that basis I have signed it.

419Eater is my life Joined: 29 Oct 2005 Posts: 266

"InterFraud.org" forwards to www.data-wales.co.uk
www.data-wales.co.uk have been around for a while and do good stuff.

The more info a victim can take to the police when reporting a crime the better. A victim reporting that "someone" "somewhere" stole my money but Im not sure how would (in my opinion) only get lipservice.

Admittedly,this might do very little...or it might do a little
A little is good enough for me.

Posted: Sat Oct 03, 2009 4:44 am

I think baiters have made WU "transparent" for a long time now... Wink

I don't think internet petitions do much to change anything except traffic to some sites.

What to I know though?

Posted: Sat Oct 03, 2009 10:01 am

I think anything that can be done, should be done. Who knows, if this can be done then maybe next will be WU taking a photo and thumbprint of the person picking up the cash. If you know exactly where the money was picked up then you can also go the area's local police department and report it.

Anyway, I don't think saying "why, it won't do any good" does any good. If people want to try then they should be encouraged. If you cannot muster up a "interesting, I hope it works out" then why post anything?

Off topic but I'm wondering, how many local 419 scams did anyone from here with tangible evidence report only to be told by the police that no action will be taken? If you were make a report to the local LE and show them where the theft accrued they would be hard pressed not to take some action.

The problems is when a 419 scam is reported the police are told the money was picked up by some unknown person somewhere in Nigeria. What are the cops supposed to do with that? There really is nothing they can do since the crime occurred in Nigeria. I think this has lead to misconception that the police WON'T ever take any action.

However, if you report the crime that occurred locally and provide enough evidence that the police can actually start an investigation with, they will.

Once gain, I just think it is wrong to say don't bother because nothing will be done. You have no way of knowing this.

This is just one of those times when I wish people who have nothing positive to say, just would choose not to say any thing at all.

Posted: Sat Oct 03, 2009 12:01 pm

Ghost says

Quote:

I think anything that can be done, should be done.

If you think of hopeless remember 'Abolition of Slavery' and 'Prison Reform'

UK folk will know what I mean when I say these were brought about by singleminde people who BELIEVED in what was right.

Signed up!

Baiting Guru Joined: 04 Jan 2006 Posts: 3193

ParaNoid wrote:

I don't think internet petitions do much to change anything except traffic to some sites.

As regards changes that require legislation, you may be right. But the last petition I signed on that site had a positive outcome: http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/turing/
The difference between number10.gov.uk and a random Internet petition is that number10.gov.uk is the official government "petition-the-PM" site.

That site is great to browse Laughing

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/goodforbad/

Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2009 4:12 am

Thanks Thud! I didn't know that, it sounds like a good thing. Very Happy

419Eater is my life Joined: 29 Oct 2005 Posts: 266

Thank you Ghost

Quote:

how many local 419 scams did anyone from here with tangible evidence report only to be told by the police that no action will be taken?

I have reported 419 scams to police in several countries including who the scammer was,where the money was...etc,etc
Half the time nothing gets done and believe you me after 6 years Im pretty jaded banging my head against the same wall.

Ive signed it because even if there is a possibility that it changes things a little at least thats a little better than the way things are now

Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 8:16 am

@ Ghost and Create

Can you tell me HOW police can trace a person using a false name, from various IP addresses. Then the identity parade would be a bit hit and miss when all you have is a stolen picture, of a whiter man/woman and all IC users are black. Maybe I'm not techie enough to understand. Embarassed

It seems to this simple soul that only WU and Moneygram can tighten up security and reduce the crime. Confused

419Eater is my life Joined: 29 Oct 2005 Posts: 266

Hi DW,
I cant tell you how.I dont know.
Scammers use fake documents to pick up WU in the UK.
Maybe those documents will be blacklisted if they are used several times to pick up known scammed money?
Honestly,I dont have a clue, but any information which will help a victim make a report to the police can only be a good thing IMHO

Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 9:00 am

^^ Create, if WU had the will to protect the sender (source of their income, and innocent party) instead of recipient (potential criminal) THEN we might see some justice.

As you know in UK the crims are protected and vics ignored!!

Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 3:01 pm

As I see it, a lot of good could be accomplished if WU would refuse to pay out money if someone tries to pick up a transfer somewhere where it wasn't sent to. I mean - if a vic sends a WU transfer to London, and the lad picks it up in Lagos, WU doesn't turn a hair.

Why would any legitimate WU transfer be picked up in a country where it wasn't sent? If my brother is stranded in Brussels, he's not going to be picking up my emergency transfer in Amsterdam, is he? If my family lives in South Africa, are the magically going to pick up my gift in Cotonou? The practice of allowing transfers to be picked up anywhere in the world, regardless of where the initial destination was, is IMHO playing right into the hands of scammers.

Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 4:44 pm

Titania YES that would be good PLUS photo of recipient to alert Vics

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