Consumer complaint received 2023-04-12
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: CA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement
Sub-issue: Card was charged for something you did not purchase with the card

Complaint:
I'm a XXXX year old semi-retired XXXX XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX, I received a letter from your Claims Assistance Center stating that my fraud claim regarding an online advance totaling {$9900.00} on my credit card ending in XXXX had been denied. It went on to state Our research shows the advance was made through a secure online banking session by you or someone who had your authority and that no other processing errors occurred. Based on this information, we determined the advance was authorized. We have closed your claim. 

The actual fraud, however, involved more than a simple advance on my credit card. Your banks subsequent efforts to correct the damage have messed up my account balances almost beyond recognition and have proven your inability to sort out what really happened. If you dont understand what happened, it would logically follow that you wouldnt discern that a fraud took place. All three of my Wells Fargo accounts ( checking, savings and credit card ) were involved in fraudulent activity, with unauthorized transactions occurring on all three. 

The fraud occurred on XX/XX/XXXX. My computer was attacked by a virus that locked my screen and displayed a pop-up warning from XXXX that my computers would be locked if I didnt call XXXX at XXXX ( see exhibit 1 - attached screen shot ). When I called the number, I was instructed to download some software to enable the agent to connect to my computer and check it out. Giving access via software downloads is a normal practice when you work with any technical support group. The agent ran some programs that appeared to show me that my computer was infected by viruses and under attack by someone trying to hack my computer, but that my XXXX warranty would allow them to fix it for free if I would first purchase a software license that they would reimburse me for. 

To prove that I wouldnt have to pay, they offered to transfer the reimbursement to my account in advance if I would give them the account number. I expected they might transfer perhaps XXXX or XXXX XXXX dollars when I gave them my checking account number ( there was only about {$150.00} in it at the time ). I was stunned when I checked the account on my phone and saw {$2000.00}. I thought there might be something suspicious going on but now I thought I was in possession of {$2000.00} that didnt belong to me that I needed to get out of my account. They then told me I would have to buy gift cards and read them the numbers on the back so that they could pay for the license. 

I then told them I would check my saving account to make sure they didnt simply transfer the {$2000.00} I had there to my checking. In fact this is exactly what they had done without my authorization, however, unknown to me, they quickly transferred the {$2000.00} back to savings ( again without my authorization ) so I would see it there. They next transferred {$9900.00} from my credit card ( without authorization ) to my checking account, then transferred {$8000.00} back to my credit card ( again without my authorization ) leaving an unauthorized {$2000.00} in my checking account. Consequently, when I checked again, I could see both my intact {$2000.00} in savings and another {$2000.00} in checking, which I assumed was their money. I had not thought of checking my credit card since I dont think Id ever even used it ( it had a XXXX balance at the time ) and couldnt imagine how they would get access to it even had that thought occurred to me. 

In any event, at this point I had {$2000.00} in my account that I was positive didnt belong to me. Was this legit or were these people manipulating me to launder money. I couldnt be sure, but I was certain I needed to purge it from my account. Consequently, I did as I was told and withdrew the {$2000.00} ( which was the result of an unauthorized charge on my card and unauthorized transfer to checking ) from my checking account at my local branch. I then purchased XXXX {$500.00} XXXX gift cards at XXXX and read them the numbers from the back of the cards. 

That night I woke up in the middle of the night convinced that I had been the victim of a fraud. I called Wells Fargo when I saw the transactions on my credit card and reported the fraud and changed my passwords. I also reported the fraud to the Internet Crime Complaint Center ( IC3 ). These actions should provide proof that I wasn't trying to defraud Wells Fargo. My quick action in alerting Wells Fargo saved your company from paying out on thousands of dollars worth of transactions that had been charged to my card during the night. I didnt bother reporting to the local police as the fraudsters could have been located anywhere in the world. 

The reason Im appealing your decision is that none of the transactions that occurred on XX/XX/XXXX were authorized by me with the possible exception of the cash withdrawal from the local branch. However, even that was a withdrawal of funds that were fraudulently placed in the account. Im attaching photocopies of the gift cards with the numbers on the back scratched off. Wells Fargo should have red flagged the fact that a credit card account, that had never been used, suddenly got maxed out. Why wasnt I alerted with a text message? Why wasnt the teller who gave me the cash alerted that there was an unusual transaction on my account. Had she asked me if I had withdrawn the maximum {$10000.00} from a credit card, that had never previously been used, that day I would have realized I was being scammed and wouldnt have withdrawn the funds. 



Subsequent Events When I received the denial letter, I checked my accounts and found that I had a {$2000.00} charge left on my credit card. I called the number on the letter to ask that you send me documentation of the reason my claim was rejected. A sympathetic rep told me to hold off and she would see if she could get the claim decision reversed. In the meantime, I had withdrawn most of my funds from my accounts since I feared they might be garnished. I was delighted to find that on XX/XX/XXXX a set of reversal transactions had been entered to credit my charge for {$9900.00} plus interest charges. I assumed my appeal had been successful. However, my accounts now showed that you owed me {$8000.00} instead of me owing you {$2000.00}. 

A few days later, while I was on vacation in XXXX XXXX XXXX, I called you long distance to try to sort things out. I spent an hour on the phone being switched from one person to another until I got connected to someone who I believe was in the fraud unit. They said that they would file a report to eliminate the {$8000.00} that I was credited in the account. 

Unfortunately, when I checked again a little over a week ago, I found that someone had posted a debit of {$9900.00} to my checking account while I still had the {$8000.00} credit on my charge card. On XX/XX/XXXX, I tried calling again ( I called XXXX ) and was again bounced around to several people including a XXXX and a XXXX and was given a reference number ( XXXX ). It seems some people can access my checking account, others can access my credit card, but no one can make a correction to both. The last person I spoke with ( didnt catch the name ) finally said that I owe {$2000.00} and thats it ''. Then she hung up on me. 

If the fraud claim is resolved properly with my claim being completely granted, my accounts should have the following balances 1. Business Checking {$60.00} 2. Business Market Rate Savings - {$4.00} 3. Business Card {$0.00} I would prefer not to have to cancel my accounts and my relationship with your bank but will be forced to do so if my claim isnt granted. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I mailed an appeal packet to the address displayed on a Wells Fargo Appeal Request Form I downloaded via a XXXX search. It was returned to me as " not deliverable as addressed '' on XX/XX/XXXX.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief