Consumer complaint received 2022-02-13
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: MN
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Domestic (US) money transfer
Issue: Fraud or scam

Complaint:
On XXXX XX/XX/XXXX, at XXXX XXXX  I received a text message from : XXXX ( XXXX ) XXXX that read : Wells Fargo Bank : Did you attempt a purchase for {$210.00} at XXXX reply Yes/No or Help for Help or Stop to stop fraud alerts I immediately responded : No Shortly after I received a phone call from an XXXX number that was so like Wells Fargos customer service number that I was later told by them it was only XXXX digit off. 

When I answered the phone, the caller explained that they were Wells Fargo contacting me about a suspicious transaction to which I responded no ( that it was unauthorized ) in the text message. He explained as a banker would that there was someone in Texas trying to make a purchase in XXXX XXXX using my information in their digital wallet. He proceeded to tell me to wait as he pulled up the exact information. He then told me it was someone by the name of XXXX XXXX and that he was going to take a closer look into my account to see if there were any other suspicious activities. As he put me on hold my entire thought process was around how my bank was protecting me from a scammer and how relieved I was to have that protection. 

The banker returned to the phone after a minute of putting me on hold. He first asked me To confirm my account balances. Next, he explained that there were in fact XXXX more suspicious transactions, however this time on my XXXX account. He went on to tell me that the scammer sent XXXX XXXX transactions, the first for {$1800.00} which was in processing, and a second smaller amount for {$500.00} that the scammer was hoping would go straight through. However, he explained they were both in processing still. Next, the banker explained that because XXXX is a third-party app to Wells Fargo the only way to reverse the funds was to transfer the money back to me and to sign myself up on my XXXX. This is simple and only asks for a name and phone number to which I saw no harm in and did. 

At this point, I am very distraught I had just received a paycheck and was so relieved that my bank prevented this scammer from stealing my money. My thoughts were crazy, I was tired and felt under attack. I believed everything I was told on the phone. I didnt share any of my personal information. 

The XXXX thing I was tricked into doing was sharing a verification code that was sent via a text message from XXXX XXXX. I was told that was the bank that is registered with XXXX and the only way to reverse my funds back to me. 

I still had not shared any personal information. The final step to get the transfer to reverse was to send me the money to which I saw no harm in doing it was to myself! When I selected my name under my XXXX recipients and went into the next window it was the name XXXX XXXX XXXX the name I was given as the scammer at the beginning of the conversation. I responded alarmed saying it was that name and not mine. He told me not to worry about it that it was the scammer in my account, and it is still attached to me not them. With totally XXXX trust I transfers the money both {$1800.00} and {$500.00} which I believed was to myself. 

The banker told me he was going to transfer me out of the fraud department to speak with another Wells Fargo banker about canceling my debit card, changing my account password, and ordering new cards. I was out on hold again for a minute. When he returned, he said that there was an extremely high call volume and that he could schedule a call back with a banker. I was feeling highly anxious at this point and hung up the phone. 

Even though it took me a while to realize I was scammed I did immediately call Wells Fargo to speak with another representative who could verify all of this. Of course, the customer service line was busy, and I could not get anyone on the phone immediately. I literally waited for almost an hour before speaking with a customer service representative. At this point it had set in that I was scammed and filed a fraud claim. I explained everything that happened to the representative in tears! It was devastating to hear that the response was that Wells Fargo has XXXX days to respond and I would just have to wait until they finished the investigation. 

The following XXXX I called Wells Fargo to get an update. I spoke with a customer representative who told me that my claim was never filed, and I had to refile. To which I was very XXXX, and my XXXX level went way up again. I retold the story of what happened to me and was told that they had XXXX  days again. I waited until early the following week to call again and speak to another representative. She told me that they had no updates and to check back in later. I waited several more days now it had been XXXX days. This time when I called, I was transferred to several different people, none of whom had any information other than that they filed a Courteous Claim with the other bank and it was up to them to respond. All we can do at this point is wait. I argued with the XXXX customer service representative that this is not acceptable. I begged him to call the other bank for me or to tell me what I can do for myself to retrieve my money. He gave no suggestions other than to wait. 

I couldnt accept this from my bank and felt a need to further explain to them. I explained that the person was scripted to a XXXX as a banker, spoke like a banker, said all the things bankers do such as to look on the back of my card at the number and to call if I had any concerns or wanted to verify anything with Wells Fargo. I have heard the same exact things he said from Wells Fargo customer service. He then asked me if I thought the scammer was an actual Wells Fargo banker. After giving it thought, I responded with an honest yes. My response was from the fact that there was someone elses name in my XXXX account behind my name. I didnt do that and dont have the technology to do that. It was the whole reason I got scammed. I again never shared any of my personal information. 

After responding that I believed it to be a banker and only after then was when he agreed to escalate my claim. 

I finally felt like I was getting the attention I needed from my bank after weeks of waiting and hours on the phone and I could breathe a sigh of relief. I truly felt that if Wells Fargo investigated this closely, they could see that it was a scam and be able to track the scammer down and retrieve my money. XXXX XXXX offer this protection to their customers is what I truly believed. I then had to wait again for another investigation to proceed. I was given a letter from the investigator explaining that she was determined to get a solution for me and that she may call me for questions but that I would hear from her by the XXXX with a resolution and included her contact number. 

I gave it several days and never got a call so decided to call as I wanted to speak with the new investigator and make sure she didnt have questions or need clarity from me. No answer, I left a voicemail. Never got a callback but instead several days later another message asking for more time and that I would get a resolution now by the XXXX ( over a month after the fraud! ). 

After all this effort and waiting and pain, I received a final letter from Wells Fargo saying that they were satisfied with the initial resolution on my claim because I initiated the transaction. 

I am left feeling like they literally did nothing to help me. I gave them the name the scammer gave me, XXXX XXXX, the phone number I was text messaged from, along with the phone number I was called from ( both different numbers ). It was a XXXX after bank hours and the customer service phone line was jammed for over an hour. There was literally nothing I could do for myself and there was no help from the bank. I never received a personal phone call from anyone from Wells Fargo, they literally treated me like I was the scammer.

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