Western Union | Fraud, Reversals, Chargebacks, Disputes?

Good afternoon

After many years I am finally looking in to using Western Union. Previously I lived miles away from the nearest WU collection area. I have a few questions before I dive head first in to this and risk doing something stupid. I have Googled this of course, but there is a lot of conflicting information so I'd like advice from people who have used WU in the past for RS Gold Sales.

1) Can Western Union payments be reversed in any way?

2) What happens if a buyer initiates a chargeback via his/her credit card after using via WU?

3) What happens if a carder (credit card fraud culprit) uses a stolen credit card to send funds?

4) Summarising all questions, are there any fraud risks I need to look out for. Aka I want to know if there are any common fraud risks?

Many thanks

 

1) Can Western Union payments be reversed in any way?

Theoretically yes they can be reversed, you fund WU through Bank, Debit/Credit or cash, Obviously cash is not going to be able to be reversed, but a WU transfer through bank or debit/credit can, you cannot reverse a WU transfer through WU itself, but you CAN reverse a WU transfer through the bank/card you funded it via - This makes WU similar to Skrill where you cannot dispute via skrill, but you CAN dispute the payments with your debit/credit card and bank.

2) What happens if a buyer initiates a chargeback via his/her credit card after using via WU?

You lose, same as any other credit card chargeback, they favor the buyer and you have no way to communicate through the dispute, there is no "dispute center" on WU - They don't handle the disputes or chargebacks, they just pass it onto you and you cant really respond. IF someone funded a payment through a credit card, and charges it back and you already picked up the money - WU may go after YOU for the outstanding balance just letting you know - You could also get tied up with fraud problems. It's really a case of "Last man holding the hot potato" which would be you.


3) What happens if a carder (credit card fraud culprit) uses a stolen credit card to send funds?

You get burned, WU is just another(hereby about more safer than paypal, way to send funds, again similar to skrill).

4) Summarizing all questions, are there any fraud risks I need to look out for. Aka I want to know if there are any common fraud risks?


Only accept WU through people you trust or if its funded through cash(Should say on the transfer or u can ask the specific agent), its a misconception that Western Union is fraud free - It's the physical equalivent of skrill where its safer than paypal, but less safe than crypto, its in-between.

WU is often only used for large purchases because its stupid high fees, I don't know what your expecting to sell but fees range from $15-$75 a send, that makes it extremely impractical to offer WU unless you have agents in China to pick it up(Chinese WU has different stuff going on, which is why you only see the Chinese(Playerauctions, Won_gold,etc) using it.

There is also always the chance of reversal and or fraud and most of the time your dealing with WU the amounts in question could get you in some serious money laundering trouble.

I used to take/accept WU for any gold purchases > $1,000 and only ever had one issue but it was not worth it at all, 15-20% margins on a payment method used maybe 1/500 purchases and u normally split the fee + gas + any fraud.

I never found it worthwhile, especially for gold.