Consumer complaint received 2024-05-28
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — Mobile or digital wallet
Issue: Unauthorized transactions or other transaction problem — 
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY (CA)

Its been over XXXX months of nightmare. In XX/XX/XXXX we received XXXX emails from XXXX about some XXXX transactions. Since this account has never been used for any type of online transactions, we knew it had to be a hacker, and we immediately called the bank. The lady on the phone discovered that there were several more transactions, all within a couple of days, for a total of over {$2000.00}. Some of the recipients were just letters, F, XXXX, etc., which should have triggered some suspicion at the XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX, but it did not. We closed the account and opened a new one. There were XXXX checks that had to be honored, XXXX  and XXXX, and we gave them the amount and the check numbers. The new account got hacked again immediately, and XXXX more XXXX transfers were made ( {$1000.00}, {$1000.00}, {$500.00} ). Not even now did the Banks XXXX XXXX. catch the scam. They failed to see that neither the old account nor the new one were ever used for any other online transactions before or at the present time, and the debit cards were never put in use. We changed all user names and passwords for anything we had - bank account, XXXX ID, emails, etc., all I could remember of, twice. We went to the bank in person in XXXX and opened XXXX cases on the issue. Since XXXX till now I have wasted days, going to the bank, calling them on the phone, sending faxes from the bank to different departments, etc. They never got back to me on the promised and required time. It was always us that had to call them again and chase after them. They never ever told us what to do,. Each bank XXXX told us a different story. The bank clerk in XXXX, XXXX, he himself spent hours on the phone with his superiors. There was never an advice of some logical plan of actions that we supposed to take. Actually, they kept hiding info at all times. After accusing me, or someone in the family, for the fraud, it took them XXXX months until they finally said that it was my cell phone that was used for the transactions, WHICH WAS AN IMPOSSIBLITY. It took them XXXX months to advise me to file a police report, which I did, report that I provided the bank with. 

Since they said that it was my IP internet for the transactions, I contacted the internet provider and I was instructed how to go into my computer and find out all the users. I did, I make photocopies, and faxed them to the bank, via bank branch in XXXX. They had to be sent a couple of times because they claimed they did not get them. We were specifically told that departments are independent of each other and something sent to one does not automatically reach others. That, again, led to nothing. Then we were told by a XXXX representative that we should contact the XXXX, XXXX, XXXX ask for help, and to go to XXXX and subpoena them for info on our account to help us with the issue. We went to the XXXX in XXXX. We were given a blue sheet and were advised to call online XXXX XXXX for advice and support. We called, and were told that they had no idea what we should do. We called a lawyer number from those they had listed. Nothing. I was told to hire a lawyer, but hiring a lawyer was to cost us way more than the aprox. {$5000.00} that we were to recover from the bank. We obtained a phone number of a lawyer from a friend, but it wasnt his specialty or area. However, he told us that the investigating police XXXX had the right and the authority to subpoena XXXX  for XXXX. It followed weeks of back and forth calls to XXXX Police XXXX, including the XXXX station. We spent hours on the phone with XXXX XXXX even went twice to XXXX XXXX XXXX It was total wasting of time. 

At the advice of a lawyer, we contacted, twice, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. He said he will consider. I am still to hear from him. I filed a complaint with the XXXX, an XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Department XXXX XXXX Treasury. I am still waiting to hear from them, months later. 

At about the time of the hacking, our XXXX account was hacked and there was an attempt to transfer {$1200.00} to a receiver in XXXX XXXX, whose name was recorded by the XXXX. I got that info and gave it to the bank and the Police XXXX Some time in XXXX, XXXX months after the beginning of this mess, an attempt was made to charge my new debit card, online, for the amount of {$100.00}, somewhere in the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX How he got that new card info, when it had never been used, remains a mystery. I really began to suspect someone within the bank system itself. I gave that info to the bank too, but they dismissed that as useless, since the transaction did not go through. After some XXXX months, they finally told us that they believed it was an inside job ( done by me or with my knowledge ) and closed the case, as they sent us the documentation on the bases of which they came to that conclusion. That info never contained the phone numbers of the hackers, which would be connected to a bank account that they should have investigated. 

Remember the XXXX checks that were to be honored by the bank, to XXXX and to XXXX? We kept receiving late fees and penalties from XXXX. We contacted XXXX by phone, and we were told that these were for not paying our taxes to the XXXX of California. We went to the bank, and they gave me a copy showing that the check was paid and when it was paid. We fax them to XXXX, and for the next few weeks those people were getting crazy, without being able to locate the check. We went back to the bank again asking how come they gave us a copy saying that it was paid, but it does not show up in my statement as being paid, and after another week of investigations the bank concluded that it was not paid, and tried to blame me for not giving instructions, for there were no such notes in the system, as if we had any control over what they wrote down. Fortunately for us, the fact that they paid the other check, to XXXX, was a proof that yes there were such instructions. And the fact that they gave us a copy of the supposed paid check, wrongly claiming that is was paid, is also a strong proof of their mistake. On XX/XX/XXXX, they acknowledge that it was their mistake, and all they offered was to give a letter of apology to XXXX, but they were to return no money to us. Wow!?!. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, we went in person to a XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX for XXXX. The XXXX and I called the bank - again, a wasting of timeXXXX XXXX  and XXXX police need the phone numbers that were used for the XXXX transactions XXXX for those phone numbers should be connected to a bank account. But the bank will not release them. So, on XX/XX/XXXX, we contacted the XXXX XXXX XXXX and asked them to subpoena the bank for that info. No help We received some papers from the bank to go for arbitration. We did, but got nowhere, yet. On XX/XX/XXXX we received a call from the bank, XXXX XXXX, who was in the case before, saying they decided to take a new look at the case. On XX/XX/XXXX he called and said he needed more time, till next Friday. XXXX XX/XX/XXXX we heard nothing from him. 

There are XXXX situations with Wells Fargo Bank. First, there was a fraud in which XXXX was used multiple times, in XX/XX/XXXX, to get close to {$5000.00} out of my account. Second, they did not pay my XXXX taxes and I was penalized close to {$400.00}. We have been stressed out more than half a year, lost weeks of work, and spent, not days, but weeks, between the bankXXXX XXXX, Police XXXX ( in person, on the phone, emails ). They refuse to take the responsibility for any of these things. We need to see what it can be done to recover our money and to receive payment for all the damage they have caused, physical, psychological, etc., and also help others prevent such a situation with this bank.