Consumer complaint received 2023-11-08
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: GA
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Deposits and withdrawals

Complaint:
On XXXX the XXXX at XXXX, I received a text from the following number ( XXXX ) XXXX and it stated that it was Wells Fargo XXXX The text read " Wells Fargo XXXX pymt. of {$98.00} was attempted at XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/08. If you did not authorize this transaction, please reply NO. If you did authorize this transaction simple ignore this msg, or reply STOP to stop notifications ''. In a panic, I immediately replied, " NO ''. I was at working at my high school and was distracted by the students, but the phone rang and a gentleman pretended to be a Wells Fargo customer service agent. He went on to explain several other charges that were being attempted and I told him that it was not me. He told me not to worry and he was going to help me protect my account and stop the transactions. 

He continued to ask questions about the location of my bank card and I assured him that it was in my possession. He then proceeded after asking me questions for a while and asked about my online account. I gave him my username and that's when I started to see all kinds of transactions take place on my account. I was started receiving text messages with codes and he would ask for the codes to verify. During this process he was changing passwords and accessing all of my accounts including the joint accounts I have with my husband and XXXX sons. 

Transactions started happening with my XXXX. He asked if I could see money from my bank on my XXXX account. He assured me that he moved the money there so that it would be protected from being withdrawn from the Wells Fargo bank. I then noticed that my son 's money was being transferred to my account. I hung up the phone and called the customer service number on the back on my card and then I realized I was being scammed and my bank account was at zero. 
Upon speaking with the bank, they informed me that someone had my debit card information stored on their phones wallet and had been making purchases and getting cash back at several stores in New York. 

I was asked if I had given my debit card info to anyone and if I were in New York or knew someone in that area who may have my info. I explained to them that I did not and I had not. I also let them know that I had not left the XXXX, Georgia area and the last time I used my debit card was the night before to purchase a plane ticket from XXXX. The bank concluded that somehow, someone had copied my card and also was using my phone as a clone to access accounts and apps and even face access. 

The transactions on my bank account were pending. I asked the bank if they could stop those pending transactions and I was told that they could not, but they would freeze my accounts, which including my personal account, my joint accounts with my husband and joint accounts with my sons. The money that was moved from my son 's account stayed in my account and the transactions that the thieves had made remained pending for almost two weeks. I was told to go to a bank location the next day and open all new accounts for all of the accounts that I was connected to. It was also recommended that I purchase a new phone. 

I stayed on the phone with Wells Fargo for hours trying to ensure that my husband and sons ' accounts were protected. I was transferred from representative to representative ; I was never able to speak with a person that worked in the US for Wells Fargo until I physically drove to the bank. Once in the bank, the bank representative received the same issues and he too was frustrated with not being able to speak with someone from the United States that worked for Wells Fargo who could assist with my account. 

The only time that my card could have been compromised is when I made a purchase at XXXX XXXX through at XXXX XXXX in XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, GA XXXX. The young lady at the window took my debit card for over XXXX minutes and walked back to the window and said she forgot she had it. I will also be filing a complaint with them because I believe my information was stolen and sold from that location. 

Weeks later, I received a letter in the mail from Wells Fargo. They believed the transactions were done by me intentionally even though they had evidence of the phone and location of the transactions and of my location. A total of XXXX was not going to be returned to my account.

Company response to consumer: In progress