Consumer complaint received 2021-03-02
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: CA
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Banking errors

Complaint:
Wells Fargo denied a fraud claim totaling {$1500.00} from an account that was clearly hacked. They also charged me {$48.00} in banking fees for returned checks that were fraudulently made into my account. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, it was noticed that there was a series of fraudulent activity on my account as follows : XX/XX/XXXX : 3 fraudulent checks deposited for {$1500.00} each. 
XX/XX/XXXX : First {$500.00} fraudulent XXXX to XXXX XXXX ref : XXXX XX/XX/XXXX : Fraudulent XXXX XXXX {$300.00} XX/XX/XXXX : Fraudulent {$500.00} XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ref : XXXX XX/XX/XXXX : Fraudulent XXXX XXXX {$500.00} XX/XX/XXXX : Fraudulent XXXX XXXX {$500.00} XX/XX/XXXX : Fraudulent {$500.00} XXXX to XXXX XXXX ref : XXXX XX/XX/XXXX : Fraudulent check deposited for {$1500.00} XX/XX/XXXX : Bank fee for 3 checks returned {$36.00} XX/XX/XXXX : 3 checks dropped off account XX/XX/XXXX : Bank fee for 1 check returned {$12.00} XX/XX/XXXX : 1 check dropped off account XX/XX/XXXX : Fraudulent {$500.00} XXXX XXXX I quickly called the bank and reported these deposits and charges. None of the check deposits, XXXX XXXX, or XXXX payments were authorized by me. Also, at no time did Wells Fargo ever contact me to inquire about the authenticity of these unusual charges. My account was put on a hard hold. I was given claim # XXXX for the XXXX XXXX fraudulent activity, claim # XXXX for the XXXX fraudulent activity, and was told that no claim needed to be made for the fraudulent checks since these would be declined and would drop off my account. 

On XX/XX/XXXX the fraudulent XXXX XXXX charges were credited back to my account and claim # XXXX was closed. 

On XX/XX/XXXX after almost two weeks of my account being locked and funds unavailable to me, I was told by the Claims Assistance Center that the XXXX claim was politely declined since I was the only one with access to the account. First, this is not in alignment with Wells Fargo Terms and Conditions which state : We will tell you the results within 3 business days after completing our investigation. If we decide that there was no error, we will send you a written explanation. You may ask for copies of the documents that we used in our investigation. " Clearly, someone was able to hack into my account, thus the additional fraudulent activity during the same time. I was shocked and appalled that Wells Fargo declined my claim when someone had clearly gained access to my account. This is in direct contrast with the statement on the Wells Fargo site which claims : Unauthorized Account Activity Under federal law, Regulation E ( Electronic Fund Transfer Act ) provides certain protections to consumer customers when there is unauthorized account activity. Regulation E covers transfers of funds through electronic methods such as, the use of a debit or credit card, ATM withdrawals, and direct deposit activity through a checking, savings, or other consumer asset account at a financial institution used primarily for personal, family, or household purposes. 
Zero Liability Protection Wells Fargo Debit and Credit Cards come with Zero Liability protection1 at no extra cost. You wont be held responsible for unauthorized transactions, so long as you report them promptly. 

There are names associated with the XXXX fraudulent activity and the fraudulent checks. I would also like to know who these funds went to and other information associated with these transactions so that I can provide more information on the police report. I would also like to have reassurance from Wells Fargo that these are being investigated since I have stated that these were not authorized by me and are clearly part of the fraudulent spree shown on my account. 

It should be noted that I encountered fraudulent activity with Wells Fargo a couple of years ago. At that time I was given a new debit card. A teller at the local branch told me that Wells Fargo should have given me a new account at that time and that my information was taken for fraudulent purposes during that time. Also, when inquiring about the denial of my claim, I was told that XXXX is fraudulently used when the account is hacked. Clearly, with the above listed unauthorized fraudulent activity, my account has been hacked. Lastly, at no time have I ever used XXXX or XXXX XXXX for any transactions. Again, I am disappointed that Wells Fargo did not alert me to unusual activity nor make any attempt to stop the transactions.

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