Happier Abroad Forum Community

I used MoneyGram to send $100 to a female friend in the Philippines back in May (Western Union wasn't working) without issue and again last week for another $100 without issue.

I needed to send $500 total to help her out with a plane ticket for a job opportunity so I tried to send the remaining $400 Friday morning and got a call from MoneyGram immediately after submitting the request. No problem there, many companies call to confirm details when making relatively large transactions.

I confirmed all my personal details, and the details of the woman I was sending money to, and a number of really personal questions as well ("How long have you known this woman?" "Have you met in person before?"). I found it to be very invasive and irrelevant esp. after confirming my personal details and making it clear that the transaction was legitimate.

Didn't matter! MoneyGram refused the transaction .

This morning I tried again with a smaller amount, $100 again. My entire account has been frozen now.

Apparently *many* people have had similar experiences, even sending money to relatives within the USA: https://journalxtra.com/comment/seethin ... -pain-ass/

No lectures about sending money to foreign chicks please. I don't expect to get anything out of this - I probably will never even meet her - but she has been a friend for a number of years which was really helpful to me when I was unemployed a few years ago.

Dude you are getting scammed. You should thank MG

MG and WU have reasons for asking those questions. That means that "she" is on a blacklist and is scamming others. She is quite likely a he behind the keyboard.

How about Paypal? Can he/she/it/them open an account there?
https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/s ... hilippines

WakingUp wrote: ↑

January 27th, 2018, 9:36 am

No lectures about sending money to foreign chicks please. I don't expect to get anything out of this - I probably will never even meet her - but she has been a friend for a number of years which was really helpful to me when I was unemployed a few years ago.

As you wish, but do tell us later how the job opportunity went

TruthSeeker wrote: ↑

January 27th, 2018, 10:07 am

MG and WU have reasons for asking those questions. That means that "she" is on a blacklist and is scamming others. She is quite likely a he behind the keyboard.

We've kept in touch since 2013. She actually sent me a box of small gifts for my birthday. I never mailed her a gift or gave her a penny until last year. If she was a scammer, she would have been long gone I think.

droid wrote: ↑

January 27th, 2018, 10:37 am

How about Paypal? Can he/she/it/them open an account there?
https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/s ... hilippines
...
As you wish, but do tell us later how the job opportunity went

Haha, will do. I'll ask her to use PayPal if Western Union fails again.

Well it could be a real person. Have you seen her on cam? Still why are you responsible for financing her plane ticket for a job opportunity. Sounds fishy to me

TruthSeeker wrote: ↑

January 27th, 2018, 10:58 am

Well it could be a real person. Have you seen her on cam? Still why are you responsible for financing her plane ticket for a job opportunity. Sounds fishy to me

Of course, many times.

Not responsible, just a gift. I make enough to the point where $500 is not a big deal to me.

Here's my tale of woe about trying to send money out of China.

tl;dr: wire transfers are the best option if the sender and recipient have bank accounts with IBAN/BIC/SWIFT routing codes.