Consumer complaint received 2023-02-22
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: CO
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: International money transfer
Issue: Fraud or scam

Complaint:
While I was on vacation in XXXX XXXX and on XX/XX/2022 I dropped my phone in an XXXX. I used a friends phone to use XXXX to text my lost phone, and offered {$300.00} to return it to me. I saw that my message was seen, but no response. I then went to the XXXX police and filed a report. I tried to call Wells Fargo, but they have no way of contacting them from a foreign country, so I went to buy a new phone ( same day ) and hooked it up to my XXXX. I saw that the person who had my phone tried to put their info into my XXXX app so my credit card would pay for their rides, and in doing so, they accidentally shared their phone number and email with me ( which I received in an email telling me that your account info has changed. ) I texted my stolen phone again ( this time from my new phone with a XXXX phone number ) and said that I had their contact info, and that if they didnt return my phone, Id go to the police. This time they replied, and said theyd return my phone for {$300.00}. I met the guy at a public XXXX, paid him, and he quickly gave my phone back and took off. He had taken the SIM card out, so I couldnt use it until XXXX XXXX  XXXX activated my e-sim wirelessly, which took 2 days. By the time I got my e-sim activated so I could call the bank and such, the damage had been done. They successfully transferred {$1000.00} using XXXX from my personal checking account, and also successfully transferred {$11000.00} from my business checking account via international wire, rendering both accounts negative. I filed the appropriate claims with Wells Fargo and they said that they would cover any bills that hit my account before I returned to the US in a few weeks, but that my online account access was forbidden until I presented myself physically to a bank to verify my identity. They also said that if it was determined to be fraud after their investigation, that they would reimburse me. I went back to the XXXXXXXX Police department and updated my report to include the perps contact info and the fact that my bank accounts had been robbed. I figured that with both the police and Wells Fargo having the contact info of the person that had my phone, they would follow up on thatnopejust a flat denial. I returned on XX/XX/XXXX, and presented myself in a branch, and they called the fraud department for me and told me that the XXXX personal transfer of {$1000.00} was covered by the fraud department and had already been deposited in my account. The business wire transfer of {$11000.00} was denied, supposedly because they have different rules. After leaving the bank I drove home, checked my mailbox, and found a Wells Fargo resolution letter which determined that the transaction was performed by you or someone using your username and password. Im not sure how they can justify paying the small {$1000.00} claim and considering it fraud, but denying the large one, which was stolen in the same situation, and blaming me. This seems to be an obvious contradiction. In my view, they just didnt want to pay the money, and figured theyd just deny it and see how much I kicked and screamed, and if it was enough, maybe theyll pay it. This is so immoral! That was all the money I had in the world, and I had to borrow money from friends to keep my XXXX above water until I could start working again. Very embarrassing. I was under the impression that a federally insured bank would cover me for fraud, but now Im left penniless and vulnerable. Over the years Wells Fargo has turned my bank cards off for suspected fraud, texted me about suspicious transactions, and always incorrectly. Now that real fraud happens, they allowed someone to transfer all of my money to a stranger in a foreign country without suspecting fraud, all in one shot? That didnt raise a red flag? Somehow I tend to think that was the fault of the bank ; their security should have caught this. Granted I did lose my phone, but thats why were protected with fraud insurance, in case something like this happens. I cant believe they let all my money be transferred in one transaction without any fraud alerts. This was an obvious failure of their software, security measures, and personnel. And to add insult to injury, they have the audacity to accuse me or someone I know! This is robbery and I want my hard earned money back. Can anyone help me?

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