Consumer complaint received 2021-10-12
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: TX
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Domestic (US) money transfer
Issue: Fraud or scam

Complaint:
Between XX/XX/XXXX, and XX/XX/XXXX, someone was able to access my banking information and was able to take over my account completely. 

Whoever took over my account committed credit card fraud by purchasing random items online : XXXX XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, etc. Most of those charges have been refunded. The " scammers '' also used my credit card to send cash advances over XXXX and bank wire transfers to themselves. 

The XXXX payments began on XX/XX/XXXX when {$500.00} was transferred from my credit card into my savings and then transferred to a XXXX XXXX. Another transfer to XXXX XXXX followed on XX/XX/XXXX, again financed from my credit card. Two more XXXX cash advances followed on XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX to a XXXX XXXX ( again {$500.00} each ) ; the XX/XX/XXXX transfer was funded from my checking account when {$490.00} was transferred from my checking into my savings. For the XX/XX/XXXX transfer, there was no accompanying transfer from my credit card. And finally, one last XXXX {$500.00} transfer to XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX ( from my CC ). The total was five separate {$500.00} XXXX transfers. 

Along with the XXXX transfers, another {$1900.00} cash advance was sent to a XXXX XXXX  in Ohio. 

Each of these cash advances from my credit card had cash advance fees that followed : {$25.00} for the {$500.00} transfers on XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX. 
{$98.00} for the {$1900.00} What these people then did was transfer money from my savings to pay off my credit card, whether this was to try to prevent me or Wells Fargo from seeing what was happening to my account, I do not know. 

These transfers occurred on XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX {$840.00} XX/XX/XXXX {$3100.00} So, over ten days, my Savings balance went from {$10000.00} to {$5800.00}, and my Checking balance went from {$590.00} to {$100.00} And my Credit Card balance had gone from {$470.00} to {$1800.00}. 

I will include all of the documentation that will show this. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I realized I could no longer log into my Wells Fargo app on my phone, and when I could not log in on my computer, I called Wells Fargo. They transferred me directly to the fraud department, where I spoke with someone who specifically asked me about the XXXX payments and if I knew the people who had received XXXX payments from me. They closed all three accounts ( my savings/checking/and credit card ) and transferred them to new accounts. During this time, I asked why I wasn't contacted about any of these transfers, which were a huge departure from my typical account activity. The Wells Fargo phone operator told me that they did try to contact me. That's when I noticed my phone number and email address had been changed. When they said everything should be back to normal, I looked and saw that my savings was nearly {$5000.00} lighter, and my checking was {$500.00} lighter. They told me that I should go into a Wells Fargo bank which I did on XX/XX/XXXX. ( Case number XXXX ) I left Wells Fargo on XX/XX/XXXX under the impression that everything would be resolved in 7 - 10 business days. -- see attachment titled In branch visit XX/XX/XXXX On XX/XX/XXXX, I received 5 letters from Wells Fargo, all dated from XXXX XXXX XXXX. 

The first denied the claim that I had filed on XX/XX/XXXX on the phone, it labeled the transactions as XXXX Inter - XXXX Debit to XXXX XXXX  XXXX The other transaction was XXXX {$2000.00} to XXXX XXXX  XXXX There was never a {$2000.00} transfer to XXXX XXXX  so I don't even know what they were claiming to be denying. The reason that they gave was " we have determined that the transactions were made by you or someone who had your authorization funds ''. ( Case number XXXX has been denied ) -- see attachment titled First Letter XX/XX/XXXX The second letter informed me that the funds would be deducted from my account ( including the {$2000.00} to XXXX XXXX  that didn't exist ). -- see attachment titled Second Letter XX/XX/XXXX The third letter was a result of my visit to the branch on the XXXX. Me not knowing how cash advances worked, I claimed the {$3600.00} on my credit card as fraud. That was denied because it was transferred into my savings before being transferred out to XXXX or XXXX XXXX. -- see attachment titled Third Letter XX/XX/XXXX The fourth letter was an additional transaction form that asked if there were any additional transactions on my credit card that Wells Fargo had missed. There were four charges that the in-person banker at Wells Fargo and XXXX missed on XX/XX/XXXX. I faxed that form on XX/XX/XXXX. -- see attachment titled Fourth Letter and fax confirmation The final letter asked me to enclose an Affidavit of Online Fraud ( for the online banking ) for case number XXXX, which in retrospect doesn't make sense because the claim had already been denied, and now I'm being asked to fill out an Affidavit. Regardless, I filled out the Affidavit and will attach it here ; it mostly outlines everything I covered in the summary above. I faxed this on the XXXX as well. -- see attachments titled Fifth letter and Affidavit of Online Fraud On XX/XX/XXXX, I also called the Wells Fargo fraud department again and spoke to a representative named XXXX. At this point, I still didn't grasp what had happened, the cash advances confused me, the denials confused me, but I filed a different claim thinking that I had filed an incorrect complaint somehow based on what she said. 

XXXX was unable to help me capture the scope of what had happened. On XX/XX/XXXX, I claimed 3 of the {$500.00} transfers from my Credit Card to the savings as fraudulent. While I did not authorize these, they were transfers from my credit card to my savings. ( Claim XXXX ) On XX/XX/XXXX, I received a letter ( dated XX/XX/XXXX ) that the claim had also been denied. Within 24 hours, my new claim was denied. The Affidavit I filled out had not been consulted ( I do not know this for sure, but since I faxed the Affidavit on XX/XX/XXXX and the denial letter was typed up on XX/XX/XXXX, it seems unlikely ). -- see attachment titled XX/XX/XXXX Claim Denial Nevertheless, I ended the day on the XXXX and XXXX hopefully that this would end up being resolved. When I received the denial claim on the XXXX, I called on the online fraud department again. At the same time, I filed a complaint. 

The person that I spoke to on the XXXX ( XXXX XXXX was helpful and helped me articulate the scope of what had happened. At this point, I was concerned that these claims were being denied because if each individual transaction is looked at as fraudulent, then it would seem that I am claiming upwards of {$9000.00} - which I was not. 

It was difficult for me to grasp what had been taken, but on the XXXX, that was fully articulated. ( On the final page of the Affidavit, there is an explanation of this balancing act, my savings statement from XXXX serves as a good indication of this " balancing act. '' During the first three cash advances, my savings balance did not change because my credit card was financing the cash advances ). -- see attachment titled XXXX Savings Statement On the XXXX, I also filed a complaint with Wells Fargo because of the amount of time this had taken. Someone from the complaints office emailed me and has attempted to be helpful throughout this process. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I called Wells Fargo to see if there had been a resolution on the additional credit card fraud that I claimed on XX/XX/XXXX. ( The fourth letter that I received on XX/XX/XXXX that I faxed on XX/XX/XXXX ). I have a fax confirmation, but the person I spoke to told me that it had never been uploaded. So, I had to claim that as fraud ( again ). It is currently seven business days later, and I've had no response, no refund, or no contact. -- see attachment titled Fourth Letter and Fax Confirmation On XX/XX/XXXX, I went to my local Wells Fargo Branch to get an update on the Fraud claim that I filed on XX/XX/XXXX. XXXX, the banker, was able to get us in touch by phone with a resolution specialist who said that the fraud claim would be resolved by the XXXX, and I could call on the XXXX. 

I called on the XXXX, hoping for good news. I didn't get it. The fraud claim had been denied on XX/XX/XXXX the reason being : " biometric data and undisputed transactions ''. The person on the phone told me that I had no other recourse but to write a letter to appeal to the fraud investigator. 
-- see attachment XX/XX/XXXX letter After this latest denial, I researched what other individuals had done when denied by Wells Fargo for fraudulent claims. I have now filed a police report along with this consumer finance complaint and an attorney general 's consumers complaint. I would have done all of these things two months ago if I had any idea that this would still be unresolved. I also pulled my credit report and added a credit freeze. While reviewing my credit report, I noticed an inquiry was made by Wells Fargo on XX/XX/XXXX - the day after the takeover of my accounts began. I am having difficulty understanding why this inquiry was made if Wells Fargo did not believe anything unusual was happening on my accounts. There were 13 transactions made in that ten-day period in my savings account. Typically every month, I have zero or one transaction in my savings account. In the last nine months, I have only had nine total transactions in my savings account ( not including auto payments or direct deposits ). My monthly activity for the eight years I have been with Wells Fargo has never involved cash advances or frequent XXXX payments ( I've made two XXXX payments in total during my years with Wells Fargo ). If Wells Fargo looked into my account on XX/XX/XXXX, why wasn't anything further done to ensure my accounts were safe. -- - see attachments titled WF inquiry with address and police report and Texas Attorney General Consumer Complaint

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 monetary relief