Suicidal girl who needs help

So I am talking to this girl, she said she comes from a broken home and she is 16 living on her own. She says she needs money to pay for rent because she had a recent operation and can't work. She doesn't want to go to social services and she has a past record. She has no identification. So she wants me to send money via western union to her friend "Jed" . She said she lives in California, and her friend "Jed" lives nearby too, but he has a Philippine ID, so she wants me to send it to the Philippines so he can get it and give it to her.
Is this possible?
Can someone with a Philippine ID still pick up something sent with western union in the US even though it was sent to the Philippines? or will it only be available for pick up in the Philippines?

Welcome to ScamWarners godiamo. This sounds way beyond our expertise. If she is truly suicidal, this is not the place to pose a question. You would need to call the authorities / police in the town she is in and give them her address and or phone number.

This sounds like begging to me, not advanced Fee Fraud. We don't deal with beggars. Learn more about AFF here: viewtopic.php?f=7&t=3242

The story sounds fishy to me. If they need money in California, they should want the money sent to California, not the Philippines. It sounds like they want you to send money to the Philippines because that is where they / he / she is really located.

Obviously any money you send will be gone for ever. If you want to make a contribution to their lifestyle, you can send money.

Have you checked the Headers to see what the IP says about their location?

Personally, I would just stop communicating with them, unless you are able to part with your money.

So if it is sent to the Philippines that means it can't be picked up in the US?

I am not an expert on the policies of WU. You would have to ask WU or check on their website.

My belief is that the person you are talking to is NOT in California, but is in the Philippines. Check the headers because they are probably using Yahoo as their email provider.

Moving this to an appropriate topic.

Judging by the number of names and locations given by scammers to send money too, I'd say it doesn't matter where or who collects it as long as they have the MTCN. Why would she want money sent to her neighbour who was from the Phillipines if she can get it herself?
I don't buy the hospital story for obvious reasons, or the "no ID" matter either and I prefer the story "that it's a pack of lies."
Regardless of anything else why can't this person ask social services, unless of course "she" is in the Phillipines?

Western Union policies require that money be picked up in the country it was sent to.

Sometimes scammers will have a mule in another country--either a paid accomplice or a victim who has been convinced he/she is picking up the money for a legitimate reason--who will then forward the money to the scammers. Look around these forums, and you will see many posts from people who became, or almost became, mules--usually that happens in job scams and romance scams. Of course the mule is committing a crime and can end up in serious trouble.

In some cases, a scammer will have an inside man at Western Union (e.g. corrupt employee), who can change the location of the pickup so it can be picked up in another country. T

But--and this is key--these tactics are usually used when a scammer is trying to hide his true location to avoid scaring a victim off. For example, many potential victims will walk away at the mention of Nigeria (or the WU employee in their own country will warn them before sending the money), so the scammer will claim to be in UK, and then use one of the above tactics to convince him/her they are really sending the money to UK (when ultimately it is ending up in Nigeria).

It rarely (almost never) goes in the opposite direction. If you are instructed to send money to Africa, Malaysia, FSU or Philippines, inevitably, that is where the person is (though the names used are probably fake). He/she gave a true location because he/she (a) doesn't have access to a mule or employee; (b) doesn't want to give a cut of the money to someone else; or (c) has given a story to cover the location (e.g. that's where my secretary is at the moment; I'm stranded in a hotel here, etc.) and is confident the victim believes it.

When I see the storyline you describe and the Philippines pickup, it sets off major "scam" alarm bells.

If "she" is really in California she could easily collect a Western Union payment herself. She must have some form of ID, and even without any it isn't difficult if you are in the specified country and have the MTCN.
How did she first contact you?

I just reread your original post more closely. Now I have no doubt it is a scam.
Besides the whole ID question for "her" (there are ways to pick up money without an ID), the argument for sending to Philippines makes no sense.

WU is set up so that you can wire money worldwide. It was designed so that it could be used as a quick source of money for travelers too--for example, if you were traveling and your checks were stolen. It doesn't matter what country issued your ID--it matters where you are. If you are an American traveling in UK, your family could send money to you--you would use your American ID or passport to pick up the money.

If "her" neighbor in California was Filippino, he would still be picking up the money in California, and that's where you would send it. It would be the same scenario as the vacationer--he would use his Philippines ID or passport when picking up here in the US.

I go back to "NEVER SEND MONEY TO SOMEONE YOU DON'T KNOW, OR HAVE NEVER MET, AS A RESULT OF AN INTERNET CONTACT."

I can only follow the advice in the last post:

Never use Western Union or Money Gram if you are sending money to somebody you don't know in person. NEVER.
And any transfer of money to a bank account without matching details should be a big red flag.