(BBB)–Better Business Bureau^® serving Central & Eastern Kentucky has begun hearing from Kentucky residents who sent money to scammers via Western Union, who are now receiving letters stating they can recover their losses. BBB confirms that these letters are legitimate.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says consumers who lost money to scammers who told them to pay via Western Union’s money transfer system between January 1, 2004 and January 19, 2017 can now file a claim to get their money back by going to FTC.gov/WU before February 12, 2018. It is a $586 million dollar settlement between Western Union and federal authorities.

“What caused concern for our callers is the fact that the claim form requests that they give their Social Security Numbers,” said Heather Clary, BBB Director of Communications. “In this case, the number is needed so that the Department of Justice can verify whether or not a claimant owes any money to the federal government.  Any funds recovered would be reduced by that amount.”

The FTC alleged that scammers were able to use Western Union’s money transfer system to get payments from their victims, even though the company was aware of the problem and received hundreds of thousands of complaints about fraud-induced money transfers.

Clary emphasized that the FTC states filing a claim is free, and consumers should not pay anyone to file a claim on their behalf. “If anyone says they need your bank account or credit card number in order to process your claim, don’t provide it. That’s a scam,” said Clary.