Consumer complaint received 2026-05-18 00:00:00
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — Domestic (US) money transfer
Issue: Fraud or scam — 
Company: Early Warning Services, LLC
State: PA

Complaint narrative:
On XX/XX/year>, I became the victim of a scam involving a fraudulent Zelle transaction. The transaction involved {$700.00} sent through Zelle from my XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX account to a Zelle recipient listed as XXXX XXXX associated with phone number ( XXXX ) XXXX. The Zelle confirmation number for the transaction is XXXX and the payment ID is XXXX. Immediately after realizing what happened, I contacted my bank, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, to report the incident. My bank advised me to also contact Zelle directly regarding the fraudulent transaction and recipient account. During my initial call with Zelle on XX/XX/year>, I was informed that I likely would not be able to recover the funds. Although I was disappointed, I accepted that response and understood the limitations regarding peer-to-peer transfers. On a later call, while in the process of filing a police report, I contacted Zelle again because I wanted documentation or confirmation showing that I had reported the fraudulent Zelle account. I also wanted to know whether the account could be flagged internally due to suspected fraud activity. My purpose for contacting Zelle was not initially to demand reimbursement, but to create a documented record showing that I reported the fraudulent account and attempted to notify the company directly. The representative I spoke with repeatedly misunderstood my request and assumed I was calling to demand a refund, despite me explaining multiple times that I was trying to document and report the fraudulent account for my records and law enforcement purposes. I was told that Zelle does not document these types of fraud reports and that there was no fraud reporting department available. I acknowledge that I was frustrated and emotional during the call due to the stress, embarrassment, and financial impact of recently being scammed. I apologized for my tone during the conversation. However, the communication difficulties and repeated misunderstandings escalated the situation further. The matter became worse when Supervisor XXXX ( ID : XXXX ) joined the call. Instead of professionally de-escalating the situation, I felt belittled and blamed for being the victim of fraud. During the conversation, he asked me, Was it Zelles fault that made you send the money? This comment felt dismissive, insensitive, and inappropriate toward a customer already experiencing distress from financial fraud. I understand Zelle may have policies limiting reimbursement for authorized transactions. However, my complaint is also about the way I was treated while attempting to report a fraudulent account and gather documentation related to the incident. I believe fraud victims should still be treated respectfully and professionally, even when reimbursement is not possible. Due to this experience, I am requesting that this complaint be reviewed and documented appropriately. I also intend to report the handling of this matter and the treatment I received to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ( CFPB ).

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation