Consumer complaint received 2024-06-20
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Funds not handled or disbursed as instructed
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY (DE)

No response has been received to this letter of XX/XX/year>, by email : I am writing to request that Wells Fargo reverse its decision to decline reimbursement to my wife and me in the matter of two recent online fraud claims, XXXX. XXXX and XXXX, both relating to the same incident. 

It is clear from Wells Fargo case resolution letters dated XX/XX/XXXX that the decisions to decline reimbursement do not take into account a material aspect of how the fraud was successfully accomplished the failure by Well Fargo to request my authorization of a funds transfer and to notify me that pending deposits/credits would be treated as actual assets. 

The morning of XX/XX/year>, I became the dupe of a sophisticated phishing scam. It is was made possible by a breach of my computer, by spurious XXXX and Wells Fargo online account pages, and by fraudulent information conveyed by phone. I was duped into withdrawing {$9000.00} in cash from my Wells Fargo checking account and sending on this cash to the fraudsters by XXXX. 

The scam began with an email invoice purportedly from XXXX that I owed {$1000.00} for a XXXX purchase. It looked legitimate, and so I made my first mistake : I called the fraud alert phone number that was provided on the email. I reached XXXX XXXX at XXXX. He said that XXXX would reimburse the charge by deposit to my bank account. Then I made my second mistake : I gave him the account number. 

The scam continued when XXXX claimed a glitch had occurred and that {$10000.00} has been deposited to my account -- an overage of {$9000.00}. Supervisor XXXX took over, and requested I check my Wells Fargo account online, I did so, and yes, a {$10000.00} deposit had been made. it was there in black and white. XXXX explained that easiest way to fix this would be to withdraw {$9000.00} in cash and reimburse them via XXXX. He even provided me with a refund code of XXXX. 

What I did not know, of course, was that I had somehow been hacked and that the Wells Fargo online account page was spurious. 

As I eventually discovered, Wells Fargo was only able to honor my request to withdraw {$9000.00} from my checking account by taking two actions that I did not authorize, and that I was not informed about at the time I made the request. The first was the transfer of {$5000.00} from a separate account, an estate account for which I am executor. I was/am the custodian of the estate assets ; this money is not my personal property. The second was the crediting of pending deposits/credits to my checking account, i.e., money that was not actually present in the checking account at the time I requested the withdrawal. 

To repeat : I neither authorized nor was informed of these Wells Fargo actions at the time they were taken. No one said to me, You do not have enough money in the account to cover a {$9000.00} withdrawal, but heres what we can do to make that possible. If I had been so informed, the fraud operation would have been exposed, and I would not have proceeded with the withdrawal. I would have known that something was very wrong. 

To evidence the position Im advancing : We have screenshots documenting that the funds transfer and pending deposits/credits action were made immediately prior to the withdrawal. We also have emails and text messages relating to this fraud. Wells Fargo presumably has recordings of the telephone conversations I had with Wells Fargo fraud investigators on XX/XX/XXXX. And my local police department has a timely report on this matter ( XXXX, Delaware, Police Department, Fraud Unit, Report XXXX ).