Consumer complaint received 2025-03-06 00:00:00
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — Domestic (US) money transfer
Issue: Other transaction problem — 
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX : checking {$1600.00} savings {$2000.00} On XX/XX/XXXX I received a text then a call from # XXXX ( XXXX ) XXXX, identifying themselves as the Wells Fargo fraud department and saying they had detected fraud on my account. They proceeded to verify my first and last name and a list of my recent transactions. They then told me several ( clearly fraudulent ) charges and said those had been attempted but were blocked by their team, and that my account had been compromised and needed to be secured. 

At this point they instruct me to go to the bank and withdraw the amount of {$3600.00} from my checking account because the money was not secure. Before I withdrew it the money, there must have been a transfer of {$2000.00} from my savings to checking, but I did not facilitate or authorize this transfer. This would have brought my checking balance to {$3600.00}, which I was instructed to withdraw. 

The fake fraud department let me know that at this time, my accounts would be closed due to the fraudulent activity, and that since Wells Fargo was not secure, that I should deposit the money into a secure account at a different bank, and that then the money would be returned once I opened a new account with Wells Fargo I was instructed to deposit the money at XXXX XXXX, into an account whose information they told me to remove from my phone. The fake fraud department then got off the phone and told me I could open new accounts at Wells Fargo when I got the chance and that the FDIC would facilitate the transfer of my funds once a new, secure account was opened with Wells Fargo. 

I realized this was a scam and I reported this to the Wells Fargo Fraud department by calling the number on the back of my card that evening of XXXX XXXX. They opened XXXX claims for me : XXXX for the withdrawal of {$3600.00} while I was being defrauded : claim XXXX. And the other claim was for the unauthorized transfer : claim XXXX 

At this time, the representative let me know that they would go ahead and close my accounts and that I would hear back in XXXX business days and that they would contact me if they needed more information. 

I never heard back, so I called again on XXXX XXXX, where they let me know my claim was denied, and I explained my situation again and asked them to escalate the claim, and they said I would receive a call in the next XXXX hours from the escalation team. 

I never received a call, so I called back again on XXXX XXXX. I explained my situation again, reiterating that a third party had unauthorized access to my account, was able to see my transaction history, and initiated a transfer on my behalf which I did not authorize. I have not given out my Wells Fargo credentials, so I assumed my data had been involved in a leak and I wanted them to acknowledge this. These statements caused the fraud department to escalate my issue again, this time to the XXXX XXXX XXXX Wells Fargo. 

XXXX at the XXXX XXXX said they would investigate, contact me if necessary, and that I would receive a resolution on or before XX/XX/XXXX. 

XX/XX/XXXX I received an email saying my debit card was declined due to insufficient funds for a XXXX order of {$260.00} that I did not make! This is further proof that a third party has unauthorized access to my account, as well as contradicting the Wells Fargo representative who told me on the evening of XXXX XXXX that my accounts were closed. 

XX/XX/XXXX I received a statement via email saying my case was closed and they would not be replacing the money I was defrauded of.

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