Consumer complaint received 2025-07-24 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Savings account
Issue: Managing an account — Deposits and withdrawals
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: AL

Complaint narrative:
At XXXX on XX/XX/year>, I received a text message that appeared to be a suspicious activity alert from Wells Fargo. It claimed that someone had tried to process a transaction for {$1400.00} in XXXXXXXX XXXX which is hundreds of miles from where I was located at the time. I replied NO to the message to decline the transaction, as I would for any fraud alert, and received a follow up text saying that Wells Fargo would be in touch soon regarding the situation. Shortly thereafter I received a call from ( XXXX ) XXXX and was told that they were the Fraud Department at Wells Fargo. We then proceeded through what seemed to be the standard procedure for fraud prevention, including verifying recent transactions on my accounts. I was then told that not only had someone attempted to complete a transaction using my account, but that they had also set up a scheduled withdrawal later that day for {$23000.00}, which was a significant portion of the funds within my savings account. The supposed agent then proceeded to explain that there was an ongoing investigation of some Wells Fargo branches where similar events had been occurring, where employees may have been selling or leaking customer information to scammers and other bad actors to allow them to steal funds and then give the employees some kind of kickback for their involvement. This was supposedly how the theft of my identifying information occurred. There was a definite sense of urgency surrounding the situation due to the alleged scheduled withdrawal, and I was directed to go to the bank and withdraw my funds personally to prevent the fraudulent withdrawal from occurring later.

I acknowledge that at this point, there had been some questionable aspects of the whole interaction that should have given me pause, and I should have realized that Wells Fargo would most likely not have actually asked me to perform most of the actions I took going forwards, but paranoia and fear for ones financial security are strong motivators, especially when paired with the accuracy of the information they had regarding my account and myself. Together, these overrode caution and logic.

I proceeded to the bank, and prior to entering was coached by the agent on how to answer a series of questions the teller might ask me when withdrawing such a large amount of funds in cash. The teller did ask the questions I had been forewarned of and I did provide the answers I was told to give so as not to raise suspicions should they be involved in the alleged identity theft scheme. I successfully withdrew the full amount in cash, and was then directed to use a temporary account to deposit the funds into so they would be safe until we could set up new permanent accounts without arousing suspicion. This was done via virtual card access to an ATM, and the cash was deposited into the connected account. I deposited {$9900.00} of the {$23000.00} into the first ATM before it gave an Out of Order message, likely because it was full and could not take in any more bills at that time. At this point, I was told to proceed to another Wells Fargo ATM to try and deposit the rest. This was unsuccessful, however, as the machine at the next closest location refused to accept any of the attempted deposits. The agent then said that the rest could possibly be deposited at another banking institution and then transferred to the other account. A virtual card for XXXX XXXX  was then provided, as this was the next closest bank, and the remaining cash was deposited to the associated account in two transactions totalling {$8100.00} and {$5000.00}. Following this, the agent had me transfer the remaining {$4100.00} in my Wells Fargo account through XXXX XXXX to a third virtual card account. They then had me delete the temporary cards and put me on hold, supposedly filling out paperwork regarding the situation. I was then told I could return home and they would be in touch regarding the investigation and my new accounts. 

I did not realize until I got home that everything that had just occurred had been highly suspect, and within an hour I returned to the bank where I had withdrawn the funds initially and informed the employees who had helped me before of what had happened. They advised me to file a fraud claim with Wells Fargo and a report with the local police as soon as possible. Both of those were done within two hours of that interaction. I was able to remember the username and password of the account the first {$9900.00} was deposited into, and had access long enough to obtain the account number and available balance amount, which did match the amount I had deposited. Within a short time, however, that account became inaccessible with the login information I had, so I could not investigate further. 

All of the above occurred on XX/XX/year>. As of XX/XX/year>, I have received a decision regarding the claim filed with Wells Fargo. They found that the transaction in question ( the withdrawal of {$23000.00} from my savings account ) was authorized and therefore denied the claim. The police have not yet followed up on the initial report I made. All attached supplemental images and information have personally identifying information redacted for privacy.

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