Consumer complaint received 2024-06-23
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — Domestic (US) money transfer
Issue: Fraud or scam — 
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY (CA)

Details of the Incident : I became a victim of an online wire transfer fraud involving {$25000.00} through a phone scam. The scammer impersonated a Wells Fargo Fraud Department representative, using the legitimate Wells Fargo customer service number, XXXX. 
Timeline of Events : XX/XX/year> : XXXX AM XXXX  : I received a call at work from XXXX. The caller identified himself as a representative from the Wells Fargo Fraud Department. He claimed there were several fraudulent transactions being made from Texas on my personal checking account ending in XXXX. He listed the following transactions : o XXXX : {$940.00} o XXXX XXXX : {$2300.00} o XXXX : {$2000.00} o XXXX : {$530.00} o XXXX XXXX : {$1800.00} o Papa XXXX 's : {$52.00} o Other transactions from vendors like XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  : The caller asked if I had lost my debit card, which I confirmed I had not. He then said he would disable my account to stop the fraudulent transactions and asked me to verify if my account was locked. I was unable to log in, confirming that the account was indeed locked. 
XXXX AM XXXX  : The caller requested my password, which I refused to provide. He then said he needed to authenticate me and would send XXXX codes from the bank for me to provide. Trusting him due to the lock on my account, I complied and provided XXXX codes. 
XXXX AM XXXX  : The caller instructed me to dial XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, which I did, not realizing it forwarded my calls to the scammer. He then added a wire transfer recipient named XXXX XXXX to my account. I received an alert about this addition. 
XXXX AM XXXX  : The caller claimed that someone was trying to wire transfer {$25000.00} from my account to XXXX XXXX. He said he would temporarily enable my account for me to log in and stop the transfer. He directed me to the wire transfer screen and asked me to find a recipient named XXXX XXXX XXXX, which I did not realize was actually the scammer 's alias. 
XXXX PM XXXX : The caller convinced me to initiate a wire transfer to XXXX XXXX XXXX ( actually XXXX XXXX XXXX, stating it was necessary to stop the fraud and the money would be returned the next day. He said my account would remain XXXX until then and provided a temporary user ID and password ( user ID XXXX & temp password XXXX ). 
XXXX PM XXXX  : The caller mentioned he had ordered a new replacement debit card and promised to provide the tracking number once the disputes for fraudulent transactions were filed during this call. He continued generating XXXX codes for me to provide, claiming it was to stop fraudulent transactions. At the end when I asked for tracking number he refused to give me that and hung up on me. This made me very suspicious of this call and I rushed to Wells Fargo branch on XXXX XXXX in XXXX XXXX CA. 
XX/XX/year> - Afternoon : XXXX PM XXXX : Suspecting fraud, I left work and went to my Wells Fargo branch on XXXX XXXX. I met with banker in person within XXXX mins of this call and explained the situation. She authenticated me using my drivers license and debit card PIN. 
XXXX PM XXXX  : She found a pending {$25000.00} wire transfer to XXXX XXXX. She contacted the fraud department and created a case ( # XXXX ) to put a hold on the transfer. The fraud department assured that they would investigate and hold the funds. They would let me know within XXXX XXXX business days. 

XX/XX/year> : XXXX PM XXXX : I called Wells Fargo to check the status of the investigation. After 45 minutes and speaking with four different agents, I learned that the investigation had been closed and the money was transferred to the fraudster. They claimed they had attempted to contact me for identity verification but received no response, which was untrue as I had received no such calls. 
XXXX PM XXXX : I returned to the branch and met with XXXX again. She reopened the case ( # XXXX ). The fraud departments authentication questions mirrored those of the scammer, raising concerns about their processes. 

XX/XX/year> : XXXX AM XXXX  : I met with Relationship XXXX XXXX XXXX at the XXXX XXXX XXXX. He called the fraud department and was informed that Wells Fargo had requested a recall of the funds from XXXX XXXX XXXX. They expected a response by XX/XX/year>. 
XXXX AM XXXX : XXXX XXXX explained that the outcome of the recall was uncertain and advised me to follow up on XX/XX/year>. 

XX/XX/year> : XXXX AM XXXX : I called my Relationship XXXX XXXX XXXX at the XXXX XXXX branch to check on the status. He said that the investigators are still working on the case and would need two more weeks as they are waiting for response from XXXX  XXXX XXXX who was not responding to them. 

XX/XX/year> : XXXX PM XXXX : I sent an email to XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX requesting to assist with escalating this matter to get a response about the outcome of the case. 

XX/XX/year> : XXXX AM XXXX  : I received an email from XXXX XXXX via a secured channel stating that my request has been denied and they are unable to recall the funds and closed my claim.

Concerns Raised : 1. Hold on Transfer : Despite XXXX putting a hold on the transfer on XX/XX/XXXX, how did it still go through? 
XXXX. XXXX XXXX : XXXX XXXX claim of attempting to verify my identity was false. No calls or voicemails were received. 
XXXX. Authentication Protocols : The banks procedure of requesting 6-digit codes contradicts their own warnings not to share such codes, mirroring the scammers tactics. 
Conclusion : This incident has severely undermined my trust in XXXX XXXX ability to protect its customers. Their deficient systems and flawed processes have left me vulnerable to fraud, despite my XXXX relationship with the bank. 

P.S. : Attaching a document that describes this story in detail along with screen shots of my phone 's call log to show the date and time of the calls I recieved from this impersonator using a phone number that the banker told me can not be used to make outbound calls from bank. I had sent this document to the banker from Wells Fargo on XXXX XX/XX/year>.