Consumer complaint received 2019-05-16
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: MD
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Traveler's check or cashier's check
Issue: Fraud or scam

Complaint:
COMPLAIN AGAINST WELLS FARGO ON ITS FAILURE TO PROTECT ME AGAINST SCAM. 
This is to bring to your notice that a bank I trusted enough to open a checking account with had failed in one of  its statutory responsibilities of protecting its customer against scams and fraudsters. 
Up until XX/XX/2018 I had a robust relationship with the bank but an event which began on that day had left me traumatized and lost hope in the financial institution- Wells Fargo XXXX 
I got a priority mail on the XX/XX/XXXX with an offer of Secret Shoppers job. A check of {$1300.00} was enclosed ( please see paper marked X1 and X5 ). In my innocence I thought I had gotten a job and I followed the instructions on the letter to the latter. 
I did a report as instructed ( X3 and X4. ) On XX/XX/XXXX, I received an alarming alert that my account had been overdrawn to the tune of {$1000.00}, the alert came at about XXXX and throughout that night I was unable to close my eyes wondering what could have gone wrong. On the morning of XX/XX/XXXX I made my way to the bank and it was then the bank told me that the check I lodged in was reversed and that it was fraudsters that had set me up. The receipts of the purchases from XXXX and XXXX is marked X7 with the cards I sent to the scammers as instructed by them. 
I was advised to put up a claim and I did. A photocopy of the check was given to me ( X5 ) and I went to the police station in XXXX XXXX to lodge a complaint. Officer XXXX XXXX with badge number XXXX attended to me and he expressed that the occurrence is a very common one. 
My grouse however with Wells Fargo is why would it give me money that was not available in the account of whoever issued the check? Does that mean anybody can issue a check without money in their account to the detriment of the check receiver? I know banks in this country that would withhold check for 24 hours in order to be sure it is not a bounced check, why would Wells Fargo not do the same? 
The staff that attended to me at the bank also attest to the fact that the bank witnesses such occurrence all the time and the question is, what measure has the bank put in place to checkmate this fraud, does that means scammers will be left out there to have their way and subject innocent customers to trauma and heart breaking situation? I got the letter ( X6 ) from the bank few days later and a claim was initiated but I was informed by the bank after some weeks that the claim was denied. 
Few weeks later, I got another priority mail from the same people with the same instruction but a higher amount on the check ( please see X2 ). ( The accompanied letter is the first 2 pages on the scanned documents ).  Apparently they felt the first one had scaled through so they launched another attack. I went straight to the bank to show the check and the letter, the bank made a photocopy of the check and gave me saying they needed to withdraw the original. I also went back to Officer XXXX XXXX who advised that I should just ignore it. Now my take on this is that if the bank had done the needful and the first check didnt go through, the scammers will not have the audacity to send another check to me. 
I am concern about my own reputation and I think the bank should also be concerned on how customers perceive its services. The incident made me to close my account because I lost confidence in the operation of the bank. Recently, the bank has been calling me that I am in debt and that is why I am putting up this official complain to defend myself and for the bank to live up to its responsibility of protecting its customers. Leaving its customers in the cold in the hands of scammers is sending a wrong signal about the reputation of the bank.

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