Consumer complaint received 2026-03-10 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Deposits and withdrawals
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: VA

Complaint narrative:
I am filing this formal complaint against Wells Fargo regarding a pattern of gross negligence, procedural failures, and potential fraud by their employees that resulted in a total financial loss of {$61000.00} from an account for my XXXX mother. This account was formed for my mother by myself, sister and brother for her XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX I was the only one that really accessed this account to pay her bills since I am the fiduciary for my mother. Wells Fargo : Allowed a fraudulent wire transfer of {$48000.00} without a required signature. Forged the necessary signature on that wire transfer application. Failed to initiate a timely wire recall due to negligent branch operations and misinformation. Terminated our banking relationship immediately after we reported the fraud. II. The Core Violations A. Failure to Follow Security Protocols & Forgery on Wire Transfer ( {$48000.00} ) On XX/XX/XXXX, my sister was victimized by a scam and instructed to wire {$48000.00} from my mothers account. The Wells Fargo teller processing this wire transfer failed to get my sisters signature on the required form. He later contacted her at home, admitting he " forgot '' her signature and asking her to return to the branch. When she returned on XX/XX/XXXX to sign the form, the same teller told her " not to worry, it had all been taken care of. '' This indicates the bank forged my sisters signature on a federal wire application form. Critically, this form explicitly includes a warning near the signature line : " I'm sure this isn't a scam, and I'd like to send my wire? '' The banks failure to present this form for signature bypassed the exact security protocol designed to alert victims of fraud. Furthermore, since this was such unusual activity on the account, the teller should have checked the account so he could see that she had never shown any activity on this account. The bank should have contacted me or my brother just to check since it was such unusual activity. B. Negligent Branch Operations & Failed Recall ( Additional Losses ) Additional fraudulent withdrawals of {$9000.00} and {$4000.00} occurred due to the same scam. On XX/XX/XXXX ( Saturday ), immediately upon discovering the fraud, I attempted to initiate a wire recall. At the XXXX XXXX branch in XXXX, VA, the manager refused to process the recall, claiming their " system was down. '' She instructed me to " try later, '' knowing the branch was closing at XXXX Subsequent calls to Wells Fargos XXXX number provided conflicting information, with one representative falsely stating a recall must be done at a branch, while managers at the XXXX XXXX branch later confirmed this was untrue. The banks subsequent closures ( due to weather ) and refusal to prioritize a " fraud emergency '' ( XXXX ) meant the wire recall was not successfully initiated until weeks later, after I escalated the issue to the Executive Leadership Department XXXX This delay directly caused the recall to fail. C. Retaliation and Obstruction Immediately after I reported the fraud on XX/XX/XXXX, I was informed that, due to a " business decision, '' our family would no longer be Wells Fargo customers, and all online access was immediately revoked. This abrupt termination obstructed my ability to access necessary statements and documentation for the police and government agencies. I was repeatedly given conflicting timelines ( 24-48 hours vs. weeks ) regarding when I would get access to our own records. Finally after weeks, I was enabled the privilege to access my own personal accounts. The bank also documented fraudulent notes claiming my brother had called, which he did not. III. The Timeline ( Key Dates ) XX/XX/XXXX : Fraudulent wire transfer of {$48000.00} occurred without a signature. XX/XX/XXXX : I reported the fraud and attempted wire recall. Refused by branch manager due to " system down. '' Informed that the relationship was terminated. XX/XX/XXXX : My sister returned to the branch ; teller admitted he " forged '' the application ( " it was taken care of '' ). XXXX : Multiple attempts to resolve the issue obstructed by weather closures, conflicting information from phone support, and refusal of online access. XX/XX/XXXX : Informed by XXXXrevention Center that I would not get access to records until after XX/XX/XXXX. XX/XX/XXXX : Wire recall finally initiated weeks later only after escalating to Executive Leadership. It was too late. IV. Documentation and Law Enforcement I have fully documented this crime and filed reports with the following agencies : XXXX XXXXXXXX Police ( I have the case number ready to give ) XXXX Police Dept ( I have the case number ready to give ) State Attorney General 's Office U.S. Secret Service FBI OCC FDIC FCC XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX V. Desired Resolution We are seeking a full and immediate resolution to this matter, including : Full reimbursement of the {$48000.00} from the forged wire transfer. Full reimbursement of the {$13000.00} ( $ XXXX + $ XXXX ) from the fraudulent withdrawals, which the bank should have prevented given the irregular activity on a XXXX account. A formal investigation into the Wells Fargo teller who forged the wire application form.

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