Consumer complaint received 2026-04-29 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Deposits and withdrawals
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: SC

Complaint narrative:
On XX/XX/year>, I was the victim of a coordinated bank impersonation scam involving individuals posing as Wells Fargos fraud department. The caller had detailed knowledge of my account, including my account numbers, username, and address, and walked me through a process identical to legitimate Wells Fargo fraud calls. During the call, I received a one-time passcode from Wells Fargos official SMS channel, which further reinforced that I was interacting with legitimate bank representatives. I was told that my account had been compromised, that fraudulent activity was occurring, and that an XXXX was actively accessing my account from Texas. I was instructed that my account needed to be secured immediately. I was then transferred to an individual posing as a federal agent and provided what appeared to be an official subpoena from the U.S. Federal District Court. I was told there was an ongoing investigation involving a compromised Wells Fargo branch employee and was asked to assist. As part of this process, I was instructed to go into a Wells Fargo branch and initiate a {$15000.00} wire transfer as part of a test of the branchs integrity. I was told Wells Fargo would temporarily credit my account to facilitate this test. Believing I was working directly with Wells Fargo and federal authorities, I followed these instructions and completed the wire transfer while the individuals remained on the phone monitoring the interaction. I later confirmed this was a fraud and immediately contacted Wells Fargo to report the incident. I also filed a police report, and a detective is actively investigating the case. The police report classifies this as obtaining money under false pretenses exceeding {$10000.00}. The investigation confirmed that the funds were transferred to another Wells Fargo account and subsequently distributed through multiple channels, including ATM withdrawals, XXXX transfers, additional wires, and XXXX XXXX. Additionally, law enforcement was informed by Wells Fargo that a portion of the funds remained in the recipient account at one point and instructed me to call Wells Fargo to have the funds recovered. However, when I contacted Wells Fargo to recover those funds, I was told there was no record of this and that my claim had already been closed. Despite the clear evidence of fraud, Wells Fargo denied my claim, stating that the transaction was authorized. This determination ignores the fact that the transaction was executed under material deception by individuals impersonating Wells Fargo and federal authorities. Further, the fraud involved multiple coordinated actions, including unauthorized transfers between my accounts and cash advances from my Wells Fargo credit cards into my checking account prior to the wire transfer. These actions were part of a single fraudulent scheme, yet Wells Fargo treated them as separate issues and failed to properly assess the full scope of the account compromise. Wells Fargo has also continued to charge me fees and interest related to the fraudulent cash advances, compounding my financial loss. I have attached the police report and a copy of the " subpoena '' I was sent by the perpetrators.

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