By Kelly Cloonan
Walmart will pay $10 million to settle federal charges alleging the retailer allowed scammers to use its in-store money transfer services to steal hundreds of millions of dollars from U.S. consumers.
The Federal Trade Commission said Friday the order resolves its case against Walmart stemming from a complaint in June 2022, which alleged the company turned a blind eye to scammers using its money transfer services between 2013 and 2018.
Walmart failed to implement effective anti-fraud policies and procedures, didn't properly train its employees and failed to warn customers about potential fraud related to money transfers, the complaint said.
Walmart said it doesn't admit fault in the case but supports the FTC's aims to protect consumers.
"We're pleased to have this matter behind us. While it is clear in the agreement that we do not admit fault, we share in the FTC's goal to protect consumers from fraudsters and continue to be dedicated to safeguarding consumers from fraud-induced money transfers," a Walmart spokesperson said.
The order prohibits Walmart from providing money transfer services without taking timely action to detect and prevent fraud-induced transfers, and says it can't send or pay out any money transfer that it knows -- or consciously avoids knowing -- is a fraud-induced money transfer.
Electronic money transfers are a common way that scammers tell consumers to send them money, said Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection.
"Companies that provide these services must train their employees to comply with the law and work to protect consumers," he said.
Write to Kelly Cloonan at kelly.cloonan@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
06-20-25 1744ET
