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> What if there was a way to reasonably check a person's identity [...]

I would expect my relatives to validate my identity before sending money to me via any new method.

> What if there was a way to reasonably check a person's identity in a standard way accessible to everyone without going through hoops?

There is, or there are. Western Union just doesn't care about it, because it costs money and their fee still gets paid if the scam works.

That ideal won’t come true for a very long while. I appreciate your idealism, but for better or worse, we need a reasonable and attainable solution in the interim.