Latest news with #TelemarketingSalesRule
The Hill
24-06-2025
- Business
- The Hill
Walmart hit with $10 million fine after allegedly enabling wire fraud
BENTONVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Walmart has agreed to pay $10 million to settle Federal Trade Commission (FTC) allegations that it allowed scammers to use its in-store money transfer services to defraud consumers out of hundreds of millions of dollars across the United States. The settlement follows a years-long investigation by the FTC, which claimed that Walmart failed to implement sufficient anti-fraud safeguards, including proper employee training and customer alerts. According to the agency, these lapses enabled fraud-induced money transfers between 2013 and 2018 through Walmart's services and those operated in partnership with MoneyGram, Western Union, and Ria. The FTC initially filed its complaint in June 2022 and amended it a year later to include alleged violations of the Telemarketing Sales Rule. A federal district court ultimately dismissed the telemarketing-related claims in July 2024. However, in November 2024, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals granted Walmart permission to appeal parts of the district court's rulings related to the core fraud claims. Under the terms of the final order, approved unanimously by the Commission in a 3-0 vote, Walmart must comply with a series of new requirements designed to prevent similar fraud schemes in the future. These provisions prohibit the company from: More information about the settlement and the final order is available on the FTC's official website.
Business Insider
21-06-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Walmart to pay $10M to settle FTC charges related to wire transfer services
Walmart (WMT) will pay $10M to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it turned a blind eye to scammers who used its in-store money transfer services to take hundreds of millions of dollars from U.S. consumers. The FTC's June 2022 complaint alleged that between 2013 and 2018, Walmart allowed its money transfer services to be used by scammers who defrauded consumers out of hundreds of millions of dollars. Walmart failed to implement effective anti-fraud policies and procedures, did not properly train its employees, and failed to warn customers about potential fraud related to money transfers, according to the complaint. In June 2023, the FTC filed an amended complaint adding further details related to the company's alleged telemarketing violations. In July 2024, the district court dismissed the Commission's Telemarketing Sales Rule claim for the second time, presenting a significant hurdle for the Commission to obtain monetary relief for consumers in the litigation. In November 2024, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals granted Walmart permission to appeal certain rulings by the district court. The stipulated order announced resolves the FTC's case against Walmart and is intended to ensure the company does not engage in similar alleged conduct in the future. In addition to imposing the $10M judgment, the order prohibits Walmart from: providing money transfer services without taking timely and appropriate action to effectively detect and prevent fraud-induced money transfers; sending or paying out any money transfer that it knows, or consciously avoids knowing, is a fraud-induced money transfer; substantially assisting or supporting any seller or telemarketer that it knows, or consciously avoids knowing, is accepting a cash-to-cash money transfer as payment for goods, services or charitable contributions sought through telemarketing and substantially assisting or supporting any telemarketer that it knows, or consciously avoids knowing, has asked a consumer to pay in advance for a loan or credit extension. The Commission vote approving the stipulated final order was 3-0.
