Consumer complaint received 2025-10-09 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: MO

Complaint narrative:
On XX/XX/year>, I was contacted about a through XXXX XXXX about some furniture that I had just listed that same day for sale on XXXX. The contact asked me to text his wife XXXX who was not on XXXX to discuss the details because she was the one who was interested in the furniture. She agreed to purchase the items for the selling prices of {$50.00} and transferred the funds via Zelle to my account. The following series of events ensued : {$50.00} pending amount showed up in my US bank account and person claiming to be XXXX ( phone number XXXX ) which is registered to a XXXX XXXX in XXXX Ohio ) texted me Zelle proof of payment Received XXXX XXXX stating that the {$50.00} payment was on hold due to payment processing restrictions between business and personal Zelle accounts ( Know Your Customer regulations ). The email included a Customer Support number to contact. ( fake Zelle customer support number XXXX, XXXX, MA ) XXXX texted me stating that she was out {$50.00} and needed me to contact customer service since I already had the funds, so I called the alleged customer service number and spoke to someone who seemed very professional and explained that this was standard procedure and he could walk me through the process of her transferring {$300.00} to me that I then transferred back and then the account would be cleared. 
I followed the instructions on the official looking Zelle email guided by person impersonating a Zelle customer service representative to complete this transfer. The Zelle account that XXXX provided for me send the first {$300.00} transfer to was XXXX XXXX XXXX, ( XXXX ) XXXX This was followed by a second email stating that a second governmental for tax and value added tax required a second transfer of {$500.00} and we went through the process of a second fraudulently induced transfer. Throughout this process XXXX periodically texted me asking if I had heard anything yet. 
The final transaction was for {$1000.00} for a Government Approval Fee. I did not want to do this transfer and tried to stop it, but at this point, the impersonator running the scam pressured me and stated that it was the final step and I would have my {$1800.00} plus the {$50.00} payment from the XXXX XXXX sale and wore me down. 
Of course, then there was another request of {$1200.00} for an XXXX XXXX XXXX clearance fee. At that point I ended the call and the scammer attempted to call and text me back. I blocked the number. I also texted XXXX after she reached out to me to tell her that I was reporting her. I requested the funds back, but got no response to that request. She first told me that I needed to talk to her, then to talk to her husband, then then that we needed to meet. She ( or whoever it was ) became increasingly frustrated telling me that I needed to calm down and that it was not a scam, and that I needed to meet them somewhere. I blocked the number and ended all contact. 

Later that day, an attempt to charge {$500.00} from XXXX was made on my XXXX credit card but XXXX denied the charge and alerted me. I have since canceled all of my credit cards and frozen my credit with the major credit bureaus. 
In have taken timely steps to purse every possible avenue to document this imposter scam. 
I immediately contacted the real Zelle customer support line when I ended the scammers call. They assumed no responsibility and instructed me to call my financial institution. 
Next, I called and filed a claim with my bank, which is pending. 
I filed a claim with the XXXX XXXX Crime and Complaint Center I am in the process of filing a claim with my local law enforcements fraud department I will be filing a claim with the Federal Trade Commission when their website is running again after the federal government shutdown ends. 

I am requesting that my funds be fully reimbursed for this fraudulently induced transfer. I have also had my credit compromised, had an attempt to charge against my credit cards that was thwarted, and had to freeze my credit with all major credit bureaus. I believe that these imposters were more than just casual scammers, but malicious people committing fraud against me and I am sure countless others.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation