Consumer complaint received 2025-07-28 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Opening an account — Account opened without my consent or knowledge
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: FL

Complaint narrative:
On XX/XX/year>, I contacted Wells Fargos customer service to report multiple unauthorized accounts fraudulently opened in both my name and my XXXX mothers name, who is an elderly woman living solely on Social Security. Neither of us has ever been a Wells Fargo customer. The accounts were opened without our knowledge or consent clear identity theft with serious financial and legal consequences. 

I am the XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX I called Wells Fargo in good faith to escalate this immediately. The first representative stated the call was being recorded, and I acknowledged that and disclosed that I was recording as well for documentation and compliance purposes, which is standard practice in financial and legal settings. She became visibly uncomfortable, claimed she needed to check the regulations, and without addressing the report of elder identity fraud, transferred me to someone else. 

The second agent, once again stating the call was recorded on their end, responded with outright obstruction. Upon my stating the call was being recorded on my end as well, he refused to proceed, claimed my recording was a security threat, and stated he would not continue unless I stopped. I emphasized this was a serious, high-risk security matter involving an elderly victim of fraud, and I was documenting the call for safety and legal purposes. Rather than engage, the representative intentionally hung up on me. It was not a technical drop. The call was manually disconnected. This is a fact I can substantiate, and I am prepared to testify to it under oath. 

Why This Is So Serious and Potentially Actionable : Elder Fraud + Failure to Act : My mother is a XXXX  XXXX  living off Social Security. The bank 's failure to even begin logging or triaging a potential elder identity theft report due to recording retaliation is a dangerous abdication of duty and a violation of regulatory expectations around vulnerable consumer protections. 

Not a Customer= No Authorization : We are not Wells Fargo customers. That these accounts were opened in our names raises serious concerns about Wells Fargo 's onboarding, XXXX, and fraud detection systems, especially as they now know and refuse to act on a legitimate fraud report. 

XXXX XXXX and XXXX : Wells Fargo records all customer calls. Yet they terminated my report because I, too, recorded. This is not a policy issue its an attempt to silence and retaliate against consumers who seek to hold the bank accountable. 

Systemic Internal Failure : There was no fraud escalation, no incident number provided, no callback from their fraud department, no intake process, and no written confirmation. This violates all basic industry norms for fraud reporting and exposes the bank to substantial legal and regulatory liability. 

Reputational Risk and Constructive Damages : I intend to explore legal remedies and will be filing formal complaints with the OCC, FDIC, FINRA, and other relevant regulators. The combination of elder fraud, identity theft, refusal to document a complaint, and retaliation for a lawful recording is unacceptable. I have retained proof of the call timing and partial audio on my end.

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