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MoneyGram to Help Thwart “Wire-Transfer Scams” Posted 3 July 2008 MoneyGram has agreed to take steps aimed at reducing the growing number of consumer fraud schemes that rely on wire transfers to fleece U.S. consumers. “All kinds of scams ask consumers to wire money,” said Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller. “The money usually goes abroad, it can’t be traced, and it’s gone in a flash. Consumers often lose several thousand dollars, there’s no way to get the money back, and there’s no way to catch the crooks. We have to prevent wire-transfer scams before the money is sent,” he said. MoneyGram Payment Systems, Inc., based in Minneapolis, has agreed with Miller and other state attorneys general to a battery of measures to help thwart “fraud-induced transfers.” Go to MoneyGram agreement with states. Moneygram will set out very prominent consumer warnings on forms used by consumers to wire money, fund a $1.1 million national consumer awareness program, train its agents to identify and help block scam-induced transfers, and refund consumer’s fees and the money sent if a consumer suspects a fraud before the transfer is picked up. MoneyGram has over 25,000 U.S. locations that offer money transfer services, including at grocery stores, gas stations and other businesses, and over 100,000 locations around the world. “These steps by MoneyGram will help stop many fraud-induced wire transfers at the crucial moment when consumers are set to lose their money,” Miller said. MoneyGram entered into an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance or AVC with the attorneys general of 44 states and the District of Columbia. Western Union entered a similar agreement in November 2005.

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