Consumer complaint received 2016-08-23
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: CO
Product: Credit card
Issue: Identity theft / Fraud / Embezzlement

Complaint:
XX/XX/2016 I was the victim of credit card fraud. I was put into contact with a computer service company by XXXX after I could not access my email account. My password stopped working and my recovery email was long since deleted. The company ( who I did not get a name for ) offered to get me into my XXXX account and delete it, per my request, for {$99.00}. I paid them and gave them remote access of my computer. I watched them do some programing on my computer that I did not really understand, when they finished they claimed that my account was deleted and in a couple of days it would be gone forever. Two days later I get a call from the company and the man said that his name was XXXX XXXX which, based on his XXXX accent, was clearly not his real name. He said that they had used software on my computer that was against company regulation and they had to refund me the {$99.00}. I agreed and gave them remote access to my computer again. The man explained that they would wire the money into my account directly and all I had to do is log on to my Wells Fargo bank account. I agreed and logged on. He then explained that he had to darken my screen while he completed the transfer so that I would not see his bank 's routing numbers. I complied and when the screen came back up it showed that my account had an additional {$3100.00} in it. At this point the man put on a show, he claimed that he had made an awful mistake over refunding me and that if he did not fix it he would lose his job. I was a little suspicious but I looked at the balance of my other XXXX accounts ( savings, and credit card ) and they were correct. I felt bad for him and figured that I would not be able to keep the money anyway so I agreed to help him out. He asked be to wire {$2900.00} of the money to his associate, a man named XXXX XXXX in XXXX. He told me that the cost of the wire was only {$60.00} and I could keep the additional {$40.00} for my trouble. After work I went and wired the money. Throughout the process " XXXX XXXX '' called me continuously expressing his gratitude and fear of losing his job. When the money gram was done he thanked me excessively and offered to give me free computer service. The next day I received a call from a different man who informed me that the money did not go through because it was my first time wiring money and the amount was suspiciously large. He transferred me to XXXX and XXXX again had me give him access to my Wells Fargo account and he " wired '' the money back into my account. When I saw the money was in my account I again went and wired the {$2900.00}. The next day I got another call from " XXXX '' claiming that this wire also did not go through. At this point I realized that something must be really wrong. Over the past two days I continuously checked the balance of all XXXX of my accounts and they all had the appropriate amounts ( which is why I agreed to send the money ). This time though, when I checked my account, my credit card had about {$7000.00} in charges that I did not make and had not seen. I looked at my history and figured out that they had fraudulently forwarded money from my credit card to my checking account via cash advances. The money they " wired '' me was my own money. I did not notice the transactions because they took two days to post. Immediately I called Wells Fargo and explained the entire scam. I tried to call money gram and cancel the wire but it was too late. After filing my claim with Wells Fargo I had to get a new credit card, new checking account, and change all of my online information. I was instructed to wait 8-10 business days. I did not hear from them for two weeks so I called. They told me that I would not be refunded because I wired the money. I explained that the fraud was on my credit card and therefore XXXX % covered by the federal government. He claimed he could do nothing.

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