Consumer complaint received 2023-12-01
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: VA
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Domestic (US) money transfer
Issue: Fraud or scam

Complaint:
Documentation of Fraudulent Activity and Online Theft from my Wells Fargo Checking Account Saturday XX/XX/XXXXXXXX  XXXX XXXX  EST : I received an automated email from Wells Fargo that someone had changed my email address and phone number. 

XXXX to XXXX XXXX  EST : I called Wells Fargo and reported that there was fraudulent activity on my account in the form of an account takeover. I asked the representative to remove the fraudulent email address and phone number, to lock down my account, and disable any XXXX transactions. The representative I spoke with confirmed that this was completed, and no one could access my account. 

XXXX XXXX  EST : A fraudulent XXXX transaction was processed by Wells Fargo removing {$1000.00} from my account and sending the money to XXXX with mobile number XXXX. Please note that this was 1 hour after I reported fraudulent activity. 

XXXX to XXXX XXXX  EST : I called Wells Fargo, asked for the Fraud Department, and reported that the {$1000.00} transaction was fraud as part of an account takeover. Once again, I requested that they lock down my online account and disable XXXX. They opened a case and asked that I call back on Monday since there was no one to help with this over the weekend. 

Mon, XX/XX/XXXXXXXX  I called the Wells Fargo Online Fraud team to confirm details about the fraudulent transaction and ensure that they had a case for this ( case # XXXX ). The Online Fraud rep indicated that the Claims team would review all the details and provide a response to the case within 10 business days. I also requested for the third time that Wells Fargo close my checking account, create a new account, and disable XXXX. They created a new checking account but still did not disable XXXX. 

Tues XX/XX/XXXXXXXX  Wells Fargo transferred the {$1000.00} to XXXX from my new checking account. This is 3 days after I reported that this as an unauthorized transaction and online fraud. I called the Fraud line again and they finally disabled XXXX at XXXX XXXX  EST. 

Tues XX/XX/XXXXXXXX  The Wells Fargo Online Fraud Claims group sends a letter to me indicating that Our research shows the transaction 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 transaction was authorized. We have closed your claim. I received this letter via XXXX  mail on XX/XX/XXXX. 

XX/XX/XXXXXXXX  : XXXX XXXX  EST : I called the Wells Fargo Online Fraud department. I was on the phone for 36 minutes and transferred to 3 different representatives. The first one indicated that they couldnt help me and needed to transfer me to the XXXX Fraud team. The second rep said that she did not see a case for the {$1000.00} Fraud transaction. The third rep said that there is no XXXX Fraud team. He could see that my case was closed, and indicated that I needed to call the Claims Center. 

XXXX XXXX  EST : I called the Wells Fargo Claims Assistance Center. I was on the phone for 1 hour and 9 minutes and was transferred from the Claims team to the Online Fraud team to the Wells Fargo Interactive Voice Response ( IVR ) system, then back to the Online Fraud team ( representative XXXX ). XXXX indicated that she could not help me because the claim had been closed, so I asked to speak to her supervisor. After being on hold for another 30 minutes, I was connected with XXXX. XXXX opened another case to investigate this issue. 

Summary : This case represents gross negligence on the part of Wells Fargo Online Banking. They failed to secure my checking account and protect my money, even after I proactively contacted the Fraud department and reported fraudulent activity before any money was stolen. The fraudulent XXXX transaction would never have occurred if the Wells Fargo representative had secured my account as requested during my first call to the Fraud team on XX/XX/XXXX. In addition, Wells Fargo had an opportunity to block the {$1000.00} transaction from clearing on XX/XX/XXXX, which was 3 days after I reported this as fraud. 

My request is that Wells Fargo refund the {$1000.00} to my account. I have spent hours on the phone being transferred to multiple Wells Fargo representatives across multiple groups and still have no resolution to this case. Wells Fargo has had multiple opportunities to prevent this scenario and to rectify it, but instead, the only help I have received to date is creating yet another case.

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