Consumer complaint received 2026-06-09 00:00:00
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — Domestic (US) money transfer
Issue: Other transaction problem — 
Company: Early Warning Services, LLC
State: NY

Complaint narrative:
I am disputing and seeking an amount of {$500.00} credited back to my checking account in XXXX Bank that was stolen from me via Zelle on XXXX. The recipient of the {$500.00} used a stolen identity to deceive me as part of a promised exchange for tickets which were nonexistent ( fake/AI generated ). XXXX was behind this fraudulent activity sent photos of an innocent person 's drivers license/ID as well as photos of the person and impersonated them, so I believed that this was the real person whom I was in communications with regarding this exchange. Once this fraudulent account received the money they blocked me and no further communications occurred. I had no way to request the money back or contact this person. I can provide multiple pieces of evidence regarding this fraud and deception. I have since been in contact with the innocent person whose identity has been stolen and impersonated and they are unaware that this has happened and they have also filed an identity theft report as well as a police report. Their name is XXXX XXXX. The phone number through which I was contacting the identity thief who stole my money was XXXX. This contact has since blocked me and not responded to my request of the money back. The name later found to be connected to the Zelle account was an alias " XXXX XXXX. XXXX. '' The phone number that was tied to the Zelle account was XXXX. I have requested the {$500.00} back from this person on XXXX separate occasions since this transaction was posted to my checking account. The requests have been cancelled by Zelle because whomever this person was had since deleted or deactivated their account and can no longer be tracked. It now says " this mobile number isn't registered with Zelle. '' I was clear my in requests that I did not authorize the payment to this person and I demanded the money to be returned on the basis of fraud, impersonation/identity theft, and deception. I explained to Zelle XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX directly that I did not authorize a payment to whomever this fraudulent person was but rather was deceived to believe I was in communications with someone whom I could trust. I am seeking a return of this {$500.00} on this basis of deception and un-authorization of payment to this fraudulent identity thief. Per Zelle 's public policy found on https : //www.zelle.com/support/report-scam " someone pretended to be another person or a business and tricked or persuaded you into sending the money or promised that you would receive something in return that they did not provide. Certain impostor scams qualify for reimbursement. '' They are not honoring this policy. It has been over XXXX week since I have opened disputes with Zelle and they have not responded. They have not asked for any documentation although I have made it clear I can provide multiple pieces of evidence of this fraud and deception. They have yet to take this matter seriously and acknowledge that I did not authorize a payment to a fraudulent identity thief.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation