If a check from the Federal Trade Commission lands in your mailbox, don’t toss it with the junk mail. And don’t assume it’s a scam, either.
For years, according to the FTC, crooks used the money-transfer counters at Walmart to collect cash from people they’d conned. Now the agency is mailing refunds: more than $9.8 million, split among 65,022 checks.
That works out to about $150 each, by my math. The FTC doesn’t publish an average, and individual checks may differ. But $150 is real money, and if your name is on that check, it’s yours.
Here’s the catch: A refund for scam victims is exactly the kind of thing scammers love to fake. Here’s what you need to know.
Who’s getting a check
The FTC’s Walmart refund page says the payments cover money transfers made at Walmart from January 2015 through December 2024. The FTC says the people getting checks were hurt when Walmart allegedly failed to rein in the scammers.
If you get one, cash or deposit it within 90 days. That deadline is printed on the check, so don’t let it sit in a drawer.
Questions go to the FTC’s refund administrator, Rust Consulting Inc., at 1-833-472-1990.
What Walmart was accused of
The FTC sued Walmart in June 2022. According to the agency, from 2013 to 2018, scammers ran their cons through Walmart’s money-transfer services and took consumers for hundreds of millions.
Walmart worked as an agent for transfer services including MoneyGram, Western Union and Ria. The FTC said the retailer didn’t put effective anti-fraud policies in place, didn’t properly train its workers and didn’t warn its customers.
The agency’s 2022 announcement tied more than $197 million worth of fraud-complaint payments to transfers that went into or out of Walmart over those six years. Samuel Levine, then director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, put it bluntly: “Walmart looked the other way and pocketed millions in fees.”
Walmart settled in June 2025, agreeing to pay $10 million and to act promptly against fraud-induced transfers going forward. In its statement, the company noted that it hadn’t admitted to any of the FTC’s claims.
Ten million dollars, set against losses the FTC put in the hundreds of millions. Don’t expect anyone to be made whole.
How to tell a real check from a fake refund pitch
The real check comes with no strings. The FTC says it will never make you pay a dime or share your account details to receive a refund.
So if someone calls, texts or emails offering to speed up your Walmart refund for a fee, or asking for your bank account number to “verify” you, that’s not the FTC. That’s the next scam. The agency itself warns that crooks are impersonating it.
If the pitch arrives by text, here are the signs it’s a scam.
5 signs a money-transfer scam is aimed at you
I’ve been writing about money — and the people trying to steal it — for more than 35 years. The costumes change. The tells don’t.
The cons behind the Walmart case included IRS impersonators, “grandparent” scams and sweepstakes scams, according to the FTC.
And older adults are losing more. People 60 and older reported nearly $2.4 billion in fraud losses to the FTC in 2024, compared with roughly $1.9 billion the year before, according to an FTC report.
I’ve written plenty about the scams aimed at seniors. When it comes to money transfers, watch for these five signs.
1. They want a money transfer or a gift card
The FTC’s advice on how to avoid a scam: If someone insists on payment by gift card or through a money-transfer service, don’t pay.
The agency goes further on gift cards, saying anyone who demands payment that way is always a scammer. Not usually. Always. As the FTC sees it, no legitimate purchase calls for a gift card.
2. A grandkid — or anyone you love — is suddenly in trouble
The call might come from a panicked “grandson” who needs bail money. Or it’s a medical bill or some other crisis. The FTC’s family-emergency scam warning says the caller will stress that it’s urgent and rush you into paying before you’ve had a chance to think it through.
The fix is simple: Hang up, find your relative’s number on your own and call them, and check the story with another relative.
Posing as someone you trust is one of the oldest tricks there is, and social media has made it easier. Here’s how scammers took $3.5 billion by posing as someone trustworthy.
3. You have to pay to collect a prize or a refund
You’ve won! You just have to send a little money first. According to the FTC’s guide on wiring money, scammers always have some reason you must pay up front. But a real prize never costs you a thing.
The same goes for refunds. The FTC’s page on refund and recovery scams says real agencies and organizations won’t charge you a cent to help recover your money. Anyone who wants a fee up front is a scammer.
Quick heads-up — companies spend billions figuring out how to separate you from your money. I’ve spent my career exposing those tricks. Sign up for the free Money Talks Newsletter and keep more of what you earn. 10 seconds, no spam, ever.
4. You’re told to lie to the clerk or keep it secret
The person behind the money-transfer counter is one of the few people positioned to stop you. Scammers know it, so they script you.
The FTC counts a caller who feeds you lines to repeat among the sure ways to spot a scammer. Its advice: If anyone coaches you to lie — even to a bank teller — stop right there. Same if a caller says to keep the whole thing a secret.
5. The ‘FTC’ calls and wants money to release your refund
This one’s tailor-made for the Walmart checks. Someone claims to be from the FTC and says your refund is waiting — you just need to send money first.
The FTC says it doesn’t make threats, doesn’t promise prizes and won’t ever tell you to send money to collect a refund. If someone claiming to be from a government agency asks for money, that’s a scammer, period.
What to do if you’ve already been scammed
If you already sent money through MoneyGram, Ria, Western Union or another transfer service, call that company immediately, the FTC says. Then call the FTC at 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357) to report it.
And don’t beat yourself up. The FTC’s whole case argued that a retail giant left the door wide open. Scammers are pros, and the best protection is a scam defense that works even when you’re tired, sick or distracted.
Oh, and if that FTC check shows up? Cash it before the 90-day deadline printed on it runs out.
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