Consumer complaint received 2023-04-07
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: WA
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Virtual currency
Issue: Fraud or scam

Complaint:
ON FRIDAY, XX/XX/XXXX, I GOT A CALL FROM WELLS FARGO. SINCE THE WORDS WELLS FARGO APPEARED ON MY CALLER ID, I ANSWERED AND CALLER SAID HE WAS FROM WELLS FARGO XXXX DEPT AND WAS DETECTING SOME UNUSUAL ACTIVITY ON MY ACCOUNT OUT OF FL, WAS THIS ACCURATE? OF COURSE, I SAID NO. THE CALLER PROCEEDED TO ASSURE ME TO HOLD THE LINE AS HE WOULD TRY TO STOP THIS UNAUTHORIZED WIRE TRANSFER FROM HAPPENING. THE CALLER READ TO ME THE LAST 4 DIGITS OF MY CHECKING ACCOUNT AND HAD APPARENTLY HACKED INTO MY ONLINE ACCOUNT. I HAVE AN RSA DEVICE AND THE CALLER ASKED ME FOR THE RSA CODE A COUPLE OF TIMES, WHICH I PROVIDED. 

UPON SITTING ON INTERMITTENT HOLD, WHILE THE CALLER WAS ATTEMPTING TO GET THIS UNAUTHORIZED " TRANSFER REVERSED, '' I BEGAN TO FEEL A KNOT IN THE PIT OF MY STOMACH. THIS WIRE TRANSFER WAS IN THE AMOUNT OF {$23000.00}! I XXXX THE NUMBER THAT CAME UP ON MY PHONE AS MY GROWING SUSPICION AROSE AND THE FIRST SEARCH RESULTS WERE INDICATING THAT INDEED THIS WAS THE NUMBER TO CALL FOR WELLS FARGO FINANCIAL ABUSE. 

I CONTINUED TO SCROLL DOWN ON THE XXXX SEARCH RESULTS AND SAW SOMETHING ABOUT SCAM THAT CAUGHT MY ATTENTION. I IMMEDIATELY PUT THE CALLER ON HOLD AND GRABBED MY DEBIT CARD FROM MY BAG AND CALLED THE NUMBER ON THE BACK FOR WELLS FARGO. I WAS PUT THROUGH TO THE FRAUD DEPARTMENT, AT WHICH TIME I EXPLAINED WHAT WAS HAPPENING AND THEY SAID THIS APPEARS TO BE A FRAUD. THE CALLER HAD DISCONNECTED THE LINE AND WAS TRYING TO CALL ME BACK. I FILED A FRAUD CLAIM WITH THE FRAUD DEPARTMENT AND THEY CANCELLED MY ACCOUNT AND RESET MY ONLINE ACCOUNT, ETC TO SECURE IT, THAT VERY DAY. 

ON MONDAY XXXX, MY NEW ONLINE ACCOUNT WAS SHOWING A PENDING WIRE TRANSFER FOR {$23000.00}, ALONG WITH A {$30.00} WIRE TRANSFER FEE. I WENT INTO THE LOCAL XXXX BRANCH AND SPOKE WITH THE BRANCH MANAGER, XXXX XXXX. I EXPLAINED EVERYTHING TO XXXX XXXX AND SHE CONFIRMED THE FRAUD DEPARTMENT HAD THE CLAIM AND SHOULD HAVE STOPPED THE FUNDS FROM LEAVING MY ACCOUNT. SHE ADDED HER BANKERS NOTES TO THE CLAIM. 

ON TUESDAY, XXXX, MY ONLINE ACCOUNT SHOWED THE WIRE TRANSFER WAS SUCCESSFUL AND MY ACCOUNT WAS {$23000.00} LESS. I CALLED THE WF XXXX DEPARTMENT AND PROVIDED MY CASE # AND WAS ASSURED THAT MY CLAIM WAS BEING WORKED ON BY THE XXXX DEPARTMENT, BUT IT COULD TAKE UP TO 10 BUSINESS DAYS FOR ANY MONEY TO BE RETURNED TO MY ACCOUNT. 

I GOT A VM TO TEXT FROM XXXX  XXXX XXXX ON XXXX ASKING ME TO CALL THEM BACK. I CALLED THE XXXX XXXX XXXX NUMBER LISTED ON THEIR WEBSITE AND THE REPRESENTATIVE TOLD ME THAT HE COULD NOT GIVE ME ANY INFORMATION ON A WIRE TRANSFER. I DO NOT EVEN HAVE AN ACCOUNT AT XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX. 

ON XX/XX/XXXX, I FILED REPORTS WITH THE LOCAL POLICE, FTC, FBI AND WA AG, SINCE WELLS FARGO SEEMED TO BE DRAGGING THEIR FEET ON ANY RESOLUTION. WELLS FARGO WAS IN CONTACT WITH THE RECEIVING BANK, XXXX. I AM IN POSSESSION OF THE WIRE TRANSFER REPORT, ISSUED BY WELLS FARGO AT THE TIME OF THE FRAUDULENT WIRE TRANSFER. 

A COUPLE OF MONTHS BACK, I GOT A CALL FROM WELLS FARGO XXXX DEPARTMENT STATING THAT THERE WAS UNUSUAL ACTIVITY ON MY CREDIT CARD, AND THE CALL WAS INDEED FROM THE WELLS FARGO XXXX DEPARTMENT.

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 explanation