Consumer complaint received 2025-05-22 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Deposits and withdrawals
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: NM

Complaint narrative:
In 2021, I had a XXXX account and one day I received a message through messenger. First I ignored it then I kept receiving messages after messages from this male name XXXX XXXX. After more than several attempts, I gave in because he kept sending pictures of himself and his daughter saying he was in the XXXX. So I started talking to this person which I thought was really a XXXX XXXX with XXXXXXXX XXXX. This XXXX XXXX looked XXXX  on the pictures he kept sending me along with his XXXX. He would tell me he was station in an isolated remote area where he was unable to get to his bank or store to buy XXXX XXXX cards and he needed that to communicate with his daughter also to update his device he uses to keep in contact with his daughter. This person told me he was in the XXXX XXXX stationed in XXXX or XXXX somewhere in that area. Since I haven't been outside the United States or anywhere in the world, I felt pity for him especially telling me he could not get away from his Military Station to buy his XXXX XXXX cards. So I started buying him cards and send information off the cards to him often not knowing it was an impersonator all this time. I do not know exactly how many times I bought {$50.00} and {$100.00} XXXX XXXX totaling $ XXXX {$1200.00} worth and forward card information to him. I knew I should have kept receipts but I did not. I thought I was helping a XXXX XXXX. I also made a deposit of {$1000.00} on XXXX to a Wellsfargo bank account with numbers ending in XXXX at XXXX with a Bank Teller name XXXX and then another deposit of {$1500.00} on XXXX to the same Wellsfargo bank account ending in XXXX at XXXX with a Bank Teller name XXXX. Like I stated, I really thought I was financially assisting a guy that was in the Military. Within the timeframe of my chats from the beginning to the end with this person, I also kept asking him to XXXX XXXX me to verify if it was really him that I was talking to according to the pictures he was sending me. The excuse he would give to me is " Why I don't believe him and He is a Military Personnel that he could not use Video Call from where he was ''. " He would get himself in trouble ''. He also was trying to ask me to get married to him and to put a down payment on a wedding ring he was going to get me and to have the money sent to him and he will give me the money back when he gets access to his money. He was also trying to tell me to meet him at the XXXX XXXX at one time to do a quick getaway. He pressured me to try and provide more personal information on me such as my Phone Account, my Satellite Provider Account and trying to get into my Bank Account by tricking me to providing information. We kept in contact for about 6 months to almost a year. Later on after I found out that I was talking to an impersonator, I felt so betrayed and dumbfounded. I was so disappointed in myself. I felt SO STUPID! I never done anything like this in my whole life being a vigilant person, but this impersonator really got me where I completely fell to my knees literally with my finances. I was SO EMOTIONALLY DISTRAUGHT from what had happen to me that to this day it is still on my mind. As I stated, I do not know exactly how much I spent buying XXXX Play cards, but I do know how much I sent through a XXXX bank account and I am requesting to at least get the total amount of {$2500.00} back. I do have Bank receipts. Bank wouldn't help me.

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