Consumer complaint received 2022-06-08
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Opening an account — Account opened as a result of fraud
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY (CO)

Wells Fargo Bank opened a checking account in my name without my knowledge or authorization. I became aware of this when I received a bank statement in the mail that was dated XX/XX/2022. At the time that this account was opened, I had a fraud alert on my credit report. According to Wells Fargo 's website, " Fraud alerts require creditors to verify your identity before opening any new accounts in your name ... '' Wells Fargo ignored its own policy and opened the account in my name without verifying my identity. I reported this issue to Wells Fargo on XX/XX/2022. 

Over the past four months, I have placed multiple calls to Wells Fargo asking them to close the account and to provide information to me on the circumstances under which the account was opened. Wells Fargo has refused to provide any explanation for how or why they opened the account in my name without my authorization. They supposedly conducted an investigation regarding the incident, which they have characterized as identity theft and online fraud. Despite repeated requests, they have declined to provide any information to me regarding the results of their investigation. 

I have requested that Wells Fargo provide information to me on the circumstances under which the fraudulent account was opened, so that I can provide the information to the police. On XX/XX/2022, I was told by Wells Fargo ID Theft Document team that they would send me an affidavit that I would need to complete in order to receive this information. To date, and despite repeated requests, they have not sent this affidavit to me. 

A Wells Fargo Executive Office manager stated that I should file a police report. I filed a police report on XX/XX/2022. The investigating police officer later informed me that he contacted this manager to request information related to the identity theft and online fraud, but that she would not provide any information to him. Therefore, the officer stated that he had nothing to go on to proceed with an investigation. So, despite the fact that Wells Fargos internal investigation revealed that the crimes of identity theft and online fraud had occurred, Wells Fargo did not report these crimes to the police and, further, refused to cooperate with the police investigation that my report initiated. Wells Fargo appears to be covering up the fact that it is responsible for, or facilitated, these occurrences of identity theft and online fraud against its customers. 

On XX/XX/2022, I received a letter from the Wells Fargo Enterprise Complaints Management Office stating that they had opened a Right to Documents Request on my behalf on XX/XX/2022, and that I would be notified by Claims within 30 days. That notification never occurred. 

On XX/XX/2022, I received an email from the Wells Fargo Enterprise Complaints Management Office stating that they had been sending information related to my case to the wrong address. I spoke with a manager in the Wells Fargo Executive Office, and asked that they send all of the information to my correct address, and let me know what sensitive personal information about me that they sent to the wrong address. To date, they have done neither. 

For the last four months, I have been given the runaround by various departments at Wells Fargo, and none of my questions or concerns have been addressed. 

The priorities of a company can be clearly inferred by how they choose to fund their various departments. Calls to XXXX XXXX ID Theft Operations phone number will often be on hold for an hour or more. If Wells Fargo considered identity theft and online fraud to be important problems, then they would adequately staff their ID Theft call center. The fact that they choose not to do so speaks volumes about the priorities of the company, and their lack of regard for their customers. One of Wells Fargos representatives actually told me that if I wanted to get any information from Wells Fargo, I should hire an attorney! 

Financial institutions in the United States should not be permitted to open accounts without the customers knowledge or authorization. Accounts should not be opened online if the institution is unable or unwilling to actually verify the identity of the person applying for the account. The executives of financial institutions should be held financially and criminally liable for facilitating the crimes of identity theft and internet fraud against their own customers.