Consumer complaint received 2026-06-10 00:00:00
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — Mobile or digital wallet
Issue: Fraud or scam — 
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
XXXX Fraud : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, CA XXXX On XX/XX/XXXX, a fraudster got physical control of my phone and attempted to make numerous transactions, sending cash to a XXXX recipient. This occurred while I was traveling on a business trip to XXXX XXXX XXXX. I believe that they were watching me over my shoulder and temporarily took my phone from my bag without my knowledge. They then used it to attempt to steal money, but replaced the phone. This prevented me from noticing initially and also would have made a police report irrelevant. While my bank, Wells Fargo, immediately recognized several of the transactions as fraudulent and reversed them, it paid others to the same XXXX address. Note that these transactions were paid out after the initial transactions were recognized as fraudulent. They also unenrolled the recipient email address from XXXX. See transaction details below. Wells Fargo further acknowledged that my bank account details had been compromised and closed both of the existing accounts, reopening them under new account numbers. Despite my making a claim to their fraud department and escalating that claim, they insist that several of the transactions are authorized and refuse to reimburse me in the amount of {$4000.00}. They also made it clear that there is no process for me to appeal the decision or provide further information that shows that these were not authorized transactions. See log below for key details of my attempts to resolve this issue with them through normal channels. I still expect that I should receive reimbursement for these transaction amounts. They have given me no recourse to attempt to reopen the investigation. Wells Fargos own actions in response to the situation are inconsistent and show that they understand that the situation was fraudulent. It seems that they are simply attempting to refuse to reimburse me. They are not taking responsibility for approving transactions to an address that they themselves recognized as a fraudulent recipient. Transaction Log : Date Detail Amount XX/XX/XXXX XXXX to XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX REF # XXXX - {$1000.00} XX/XX/XXXX XXXX to XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX REF # XXXX - {$1000.00} XX/XX/XXXX XXXX to XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX REF # XXXX - {$1000.00} XX/XX/XXXX Reverse XXXX to XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX REF # XXXX {$1000.00} XX/XX/XXXX XXXX to XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX REF # XXXX - {$1000.00} XX/XX/XXXX Reverse XXXX to XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX REF # XXXX {$1000.00} XX/XX/XXXX XXXX to XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX REF # XXXX - {$2000.00} XX/XX/XXXX XXXX to XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX REF # XXXX - {$2000.00} XX/XX/XXXX Reverse XXXX to XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX REF # XXXX {$2000.00} What this log demonstrates is that Wells Fargo recognized that transactions were fraudulent and automatically reversed some of them. However, the reversal was selective, and it chose to deny my claim of fraud against others. Specifically, these transactions are : XXXX to XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX REF # XXXX XXXX to XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX REF # XXXX XXXX to XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX REF # XXXX Total : {$4000.00} Below is the log of my attempts to report and resolve this issue : Date Interaction Details XX/XX/XXXX On the morning of this date, I received text notifications that my account had been compromised and I was unable to log in to the Wells Fargo app. I spoke with customer service and the claims assistant center by phone to report the issues and understand the situation. My call was rerouted and redirected many times. XX/XX/XXXX In the afternoon of this date, I visited the Wells Fargo branch XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, NY. I worked with one of the branch staff who continued to help me resolve the issue. She assisted me in reporting the issues and specifically fraudulent transactions to the appropriate parties at Wells Fargo. She also closed both my business checking and personal checking accounts and reopened them under new numbers since the accounts had been compromised. XX/XX/XXXX I received a notice by mail from Wells Fargo that the claim has been denied. The reason for denial was that the activity was made through a secure online banking session by me or someone who had my authority. This is already in contradiction to what Wells Fargo flagged when they froze my account and reversed some of the transactions. XX/XX/XXXX In response to the denial, I called the XXXX XXXX XXXX for follow-up, at approximately XXXX XXXX. I spoke to a XXXX named XXXX. He agreed to escalate the claim issue to XXXX XXXX line of business Escalated Complaints Office. He stated that I would receive a follow-up request from that office for further information within 72 hours. I also requested complete documentation that was used to make the decision on the referenced claims. XX/XX/XXXX I submitted reports of the fraudulent transactions via the FBI 's official Internet Crime Complaint Center ( IC3 ) portal, after realizing that Wells Fargo would not make a good-faith effort to resolve the claim. XX/XX/XXXX After not hearing from Wells Fargo within the stated 72-hour window, I called customer service again. I spoke to a CSR named XXXX. She suggested that at this point my only opportunity was to refer the case to an attorney. XX/XX/XXXX I received the requested documentation from Wells Fargo. The documentation does not include any proof that the transactions were authorized by me. The documentation simply states that the transactions occurred. XX/XX/XXXX Because the documentation provided by Wells Fargo did not support the denial of their claim, I called requesting information on how to dispute the claim decision. The CSR ( XXXX ) told me that there was no mechanism for reopening the claim. XXXX said that the concern would be forwarded back to Wells Fargo investigators, who would follow up with me. This was my last interaction with Wells Fargo. XX/XX/XXXX My understanding is that there is a 90-day waiting period before submitting any further complaints to outside parties. At this point, further complaints are my only recourse. Note that I have hard copies of all the original documents referenced in the table of events above. Sincerely, XXXX XXXX XXXX

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