Walmart hit with $10M fine for turning blind eye to scammers

Walmart will pay $10 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it turned a blind eye to scammers who used the mega retailer's in-store money transfer services to bilk U.S. consumers of hundreds of millions of dollars.

"Electronic money transfers are one of the most common ways scammers tell consumers to send them money, because once it's sent, it's gone for good," said Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection.

The FTC filed its complaint against Walmart in 2022, alleging that between 2013 and 2018, the company (including in its capacity as an agent of MoneyGram, Western Union and Ria) allowed its money transfer services to be used by scammers who defrauded consumers of hundreds of millions of dollars.

According to the FTC, Walmart failed to implement effective anti-fraud policies and procedures, the complaint alleged. It also failed to properly train employees, and failed to warn customers about potential frauds related to money transfers, according to the complaint.

#FTC amends complaint

The FTC filed an amended complaint in 2023, adding further details alleging violations of the Telemarketing Sales Rule, including that rule's ban on the use of cash-to-cash money transfers in any telemarketing transaction.

The amended complaint cited numerous instances in which scammers relied on money transfers initiated at Walmart stores as a primary way to receive payments, including telemarketing schemes like sweepstakes scams, advance fee loan scams, IRS impersonation schemes, and relative-in-need "grandparent" schemes, among other scams.

In July of 2024, the court hearing the case—the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois—dismissed the claim that Walmart violated the Telemarketing Sales Rule. That created a major hurdle for the FTC to obtain monetary relief for consumers. Then, in November 2024, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals granted Walmart permission to appeal certain rulings by the district court.

Walmart needs to pay attention to potential fraud

The stipulated order, which was filed in court and published via press release on June 20, 2025, resolves the FTC's case against Walmart, and is intended to ensure the company doesn't engage in similar alleged conduct in the future. The $10 million judgment will be deposited into a fund to be used for consumer relief.

Additionally, the order prohibits Walmart from:

1. Providing money transfer services without taking timely and appropriate action to effectively detect and prevent fraud-induced money transfers

2. Sending or paying out any money transfer that it knows, or consciously avoids knowing, is a fraud-induced money transfer

3. Substantially assisting or supporting any seller or telemarketer that it knows, or consciously avoids knowing, is accepting a cash-to-cash money transfers as payment for goods, services or charitable contributions sought through telemarketing

4. 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.

Walmart denies wrong doing

In a June 20 statement, Walmart neither admitted nor denied wrongdoing in settling the matter. The company also said it was “pleased to settle and shared the FTC’s goal of protecting consumers from fraudsters, including from fraud‑induced money transfers.”

Walmart affirmed that as part of the settlement, the company agreed not to process money transfers it suspects are fraudulent, or help sellers and telemarketers it believes are using its services for fraud, and committed to take “timely and appropriate action" to effectively detect and prevent fraud‑induced money transfers, per reporting from Reuters.

Walmart also noted that under the terms of the agreement, the FTC has dismissed the case with prejudice, permanently closing the litigation.

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