What is the risk with Western Union?

Hi everyone, My question is, is there any risk with receiving money from Western Union from the perspective of Identity Theft?

They need my Name, Address, and Phone Number. Can they hurt me in any way with that information?

Thanks for your help..

 

They won't unless you receive/send money for some illegal activities

 

they can't hurt you if you use fake id....i don't recommend it but they don't check....as long as you have a picture id to show them when you pick the money up...plus a valid phone number would work...tracfone..etc..just incase they screw up the name/etc...either way..if you are receiving, make sure they send cash only and you get a scanned copy of the receipt as there are a lot of scams/hackers that try to send wu from hacked/stolen cc...next thing you know cops are waiting there for you and asking you about the transaction.

 

Depends on your countery ,

In my countery i can rec/send money through WU without showing any ID photo or even name , using just a secret word , where the receiver say it, and get the money.

This is due to our main law of Identies privacy.

in some counteries, they take a photo of your social ID and you sign in a rec/send form...blah blah .

But make sure if you sent to someone and it turn to be a scammer, you won't ever got your money back or even they won't do anything to him.

 

WU money transfer shouldn't really be used for Merchant services or money transfer from unknown facility. WU is meant to be used for relatives who know each others, so practically, for such cases, the question which coming in your mind, shouldn't arise

 

so this is clearly a bad thing to do lol ok.

Anyway, my problem is that I am receiving money from someone and i want to know if theres any risk involved.

So if someone knows my Name, Address, and Phone Number (legit), can they do any harm to me like steal my identity or open some account in my name or fraud me?

 

Western Union is safe, but I would be careful with disclosing personal information.

 

Thats what I'm worring about: what he can do with my name, address, and phone #.

 

Well, there must be such a risk that other people will steal and use your information. So, you need to ensure that the person whom you are giving information to is reputable.

But you may also consider that receiving Paypal payment will also disclose your name.