Barnegat Police Track Down 40 Area Victims Of Western Union Scam

BARNEGAT, NJ - Barnegat police have tracked down $176,443 that residents who fell victim to a recent Western Union scam may be able to recover, Police Chief Keith Germain said on the police department Facebook page.

Barnegat police officers combed through all the fraud and scam complaints going back to 2004 and were able to identify 40 residents who were duped in the scam, the chief said.

"It would have been easy to just advise victims that they had fallen victim to a scam based outside of the United States and that there was little chance of them ever recovering their money," Germain said. "But as they always do, our officers went above and beyond to meticulously document these offenses. It is only because of that effort that we were able to go back all these years later, identify victims, and help them get back the money they lost."

Western Union recently reached a $586 million settlement with the U.S. Attorney's Office and the Federal Trade Commission to provide restitution to victims of the scam. The settlement covers people who were victimized between Jan. 1, 2004 and Jan. 19, 2017, he said.

As of Thursday, Feb. 8, the police department has contacted all 40 victims, notified them of the settlement and advised them of how to seek restitution, Germain said.

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