Consumer complaint received 2026-04-21 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Problem making or receiving payments
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: DC

Complaint narrative:
I am filing this complaint regarding a fraud loss of approximately {$16000.00} from my account due to a coordinated impersonation scam involving individuals posing as Wells Fargos fraud department. On XX/XX/year>, I received a text message that appeared to be from Wells Fargo fraud services stating that a transaction had been declined and asking me to confirm whether it was authorized. After responding NO, I received a follow-up message stating that a representative would contact me. I was then called by individuals who convincingly impersonated Wells Fargo representatives and informed me that my account had been compromised and that I needed to move my funds to protect them. Relying on what I believed were legitimate instructions from Wells Fargo, I transferred funds over the course of four consecutive days. These transfers included an initial amount of approximately {$2000.00}, followed by multiple transactions of approximately {$4900.00} {$5000.00} per day using XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX to newly added external accounts and cards. These transactions exhibited clear high-risk characteristics, including rapid movement of large sums, addition of new external accounts, and repeated transfers over consecutive days. Despite this pattern, no effective fraud intervention occurred. No meaningful warnings, holds, or verification measures were implemented to stop or question this activity. Notably, one of the third-party platforms involved flagged the activity as suspicious, indicating that the transactions met known fraud criteria. However, Wells Fargo did not take action to prevent the continued loss of funds during this multi-day sequence. Wells Fargo has denied my claim on the basis that the transactions were authorized. This conclusion fails to account for the fact that these transactions were conducted under deception as part of an impersonation fraud and social engineering attack. I did not knowingly authorize transfers to a scammer. I acted under the false belief that I was communicating with Wells Fargo and securing my funds. Additionally, when I initially contacted Wells Fargo to report the fraud, a representative made dismissive remarks suggesting that I should have been aware of this type of scam because it is all over the news. This indicates that Wells Fargo is aware of the prevalence of these scams, yet I received no prior warning, targeted alert, or enhanced protection, and no intervention occurred during a prolonged pattern of high-risk activity. Wells Fargo has acknowledged my escalation and indicated that the matter is currently under review by their XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. I am submitting this complaint to ensure regulatory oversight and a fair, thorough review of the banks handling of this situation. Given the documented impersonation, the multi-day high-risk transaction pattern, and the failure of fraud detection and intervention systems, I am requesting that Wells Fargo : Reopen and fully investigate this claim under the context of impersonation fraud and social engineering. Provide a detailed written explanation of why these transactions were not flagged or prevented. Reimburse the full amount of funds lost as a result of this incident. I have attached supporting documentation, including transaction records, screenshots of the impersonation messages, and my Federal Trade Commission fraud report.

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