Consumer complaint received 2023-05-01
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: PA
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Virtual currency
Issue: Fraud or scam

Complaint:
On XX/XX/2023, I got a call from caller ID " Wells Fargo Customer Service. '' I have received phone calls from Wells Fargo before, so I did not think anything unusual about this call. 
The caller stated that there was a pending XXXX fraudulent transaction of {$950.00} and asked me to verify my last few transactions with them. I did so and stated that I did not authorize a transaction of {$950.00}. The caller said they would need to push a XXXX retrieval transaction to reverse the fraudulent charge, as Wells Fargo needs something to cancel on their end in order to get the {$950.00} back. The caller stated that the account flagged for fraudulent activity was under the name of XXXX XXXX. I was skeptical at this point, but they reassured me they were a Wells Fargo employee and the caller gave me their name, and employee information, and told me that I could verify the phone number they were calling from as the Wells Fargo department. I did google the phone number, and it came up as Wells Fargo Customer Service. In addition, they said they could verify that they were from Wells Fargo by sending a push notification to my phone ( I attached the files below ). Once they sent the push notification, it was from the same number that I get my other Wells Fargo push notifications from so this convinced me that it was actually Wells Fargo. They stated I would need to send a XXXX under the name of XXXX XXXX 's so they could start a fraud investigation. Once I sent the XXXX, the caller gave me a case ID number and stated to call back Wells Fargo in a few days for more information on the fraud case. 
When I called back the next day, the customer service rep informed me that I had been a victim of fraud and this was a very popular scam that Wells Fargo has been having increased issues with. The rep assured me that they would be there to help every step of the way. They immediately froze my accounts, shut off my Wells Fargo account access, and stated they would keep me updated on the claim. 
Unfortunately, I never heard back from them besides a few letters in the mail updating me that they were continuing to assist me in my claim. I had to call them over the span of many weeks repeatedly. As of XX/XX/XXXX, I had no new information. Each time I called, I was put on hold for hours and transferred repeatedly in circles. I was still locked out of my account and unable to access any of my account information for many weeks. I could not check my account balance, monitor my transactions, or make any payments to my credit card. 
When I called today XX/XX/XXXX, I finally got through to a customer service rep after many transfers and was told that the claim was denied and the transaction was not fraudulent. This was the first time I had heard of this, and I got no notification in the mail or through the email that my claim was denied. In addition, the fraud representative was highly insensitive and blamed me stating " well, you sent the money ''. I asked to speak to someone else and she refused and transferred back to the main menu as opposed to escalating me to the right department. I called back and then was transferred again numerous times with customer service reps unwilling to open a new claim. They stated that they can not and will not help me. I don't feel safe and secure with Wells Fargo and feel extremely disheartened about this situation and the lack of accountability by Wells Fargo. I have been a customer of Wells Fargo for years and this is the first time this has ever happened to 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