Consumer complaint received 2025-11-13 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Funds not handled or disbursed as instructed
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: TX

Complaint narrative:
On XX/XX/XXXX, at approximately XXXXXXXX XXXX, I was contacted by a number claiming to be from Wells Fargo Bank XXXX. The text message appeared identical in format to prior legitimate Wells Fargo fraud alerts I have received in the past. The message stated : " High Risk Transaction : Did you attempt {$1000.00} at XXXX in XXXX, XXXX, on XX/XX/XXXX. Reply Y for YES or N for NO. '' Because Wells Fargo has legitimately contacted me in the past with the same style of messagesspecifically about unauthorized transactions and card replacementI believed this was truly Wells Fargo 's fraud department. I replied, " NO. '' Within minutes, the same sender informed me that a Wells Fargo security agent would call me. The caller identified themselves as Wells Fargo Fraud Prevention and told me that an unauthorized {$4000.00} transaction had occurred at XXXX in XXXX, XXXX, via XXXX, which was linked to my Wells Fargo debit card. I did not authorize any such transaction. 

I need to emphasize that this call perfectly mimicked Wells Fargo procedures I had previously experienced. A year earlier, Wells Fargo legitimately contacted me about fraud, cancelled my debit card, and sent me a replacement. This impersonation scam followed the same pattern, which is what caused me to trust it. 

The scammers told me Wells Fargo could not stop the fraudulent transfer because it had already gon too far. '' They stated that since the transaction occurred through XXXX, " they were " working with a XXXX XXXX '' on the line to issue me a reimbursement credit. 

At this point, I was placed on hold multiple times as they pretended to speak with XXXX representatives. This made the situation seem even more legitimate. 

They told me that my Wells Fargo debit card had been canceled ( just as had happened before with legitimate Wells Fargo staff ). They provided " XXXX with a " new temporary card number, '' supposedly generated by Wells Fargo. 

They then instructed me to add funds to XXXX using this " new replacement card '' so that XXXX could instantly deposit the funds back into my Wells Fargo account as part of the reimbursement process. I had never used XXXX in this way before, so I was unfamiliar with its mechanics. The scammers walked me through the process, repeatedly reassuring me that : Wells Fargo authorization was in place My account was protected All funds would be refunded immediately I followed their instructions, believing I was cooperating with Wells Fargo security.

This was not a typical scam. This was a highly coordinated impersonation of my bank. I was prompted to make an authorized transfer because I believed the instructions were coming from Fargo 's Fraud Prevention department.

The scammers then attempted to extract more funds. Fargo 's system automatically froze my account, which prevented further losses. 

The scammers called me again the next morning, but I blocked the number and instead contacted Wells Fargo directly. After verifying my identity, I spoke with a real Wells Fargo fraud specialist and explained the entire incident. A claim was filed.

I also submitted the scammer 's phone number and text messages to Fargo 's phishing team. However, I was informed by the claims representative that the phishing team and the claims department do not communicate, which concerns me because this prevents Wells Fargo from conducting a thorough investigation. 

To be clear : This was a Wells Fargo impersonation scam, not a voluntary transaction. 

The scammers misrepresented themselves as Wells Fargo Fraud Prevention, the bank 's communication patterns, and induced me to send funds under pretenses. 

This falls within the CFPB 's definition of : Induced authorized fraud caused by bank impersonation Customer manipulation using a fraudulent bank identity Unauthorized transactions obtained by deception I acted in good faith, believing I was protecting my account. 

I am requesting the CFPB 's assistance in ensuring Wells Fargo : XXXX. Properly classifies this as bank impersonation fraud, XXXX. Conducts a coordinated investigation ( including reviewing the phishing report ), XXXX. And reimburses the {$4000.00} that I lost due to this induced fraud. 

Wells Fargo has previously had enforcement actions related to misclassifying fraud claims, and I am concerned my case XXXX be mishandled without CFPB oversight. 

Thank you for your assistance.

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