Banks and credit unions such as Bank of America may be engaging in deceptive fake bank account behavior by opening unauthorized bank accounts to boost sales goals.

In 2016 and 2017, Wells Fargo found itself constantly in the news after becoming embroiled in a fake bank account scandal. Allegations arose suggesting that Wells Fargo employees had opened millions of unauthorized bank accounts without consumer consent. Employees were allegedly opening fake bank accounts in order to meet sales goals with the company which would qualify them for additional bonuses.

A total of 3.5 million fake bank and credit card accounts were opened as a part of the scandal. Wells Fargo ended up settling claims against them and reached a $142 million settlement. The bank also was forced to pay additional fines and reform the sales goal system which encouraged deceptive fake bank account creation.

Although the Wells Fargo fake bank account scandal was resolved, regulators recently said that other banks may be engaging in similar behavior. After the Wells Fargo fake bank account scandal, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) began an investigation into over 40 large and midsized financial institutions to monitor for any further fake bank account activity.

An OCC spokesperson has said that some of the investigated banks were creating unauthorized bank accounts. These accounts had a variety of reasons behind their creation including “short-term sales promotions without adequate risk controls, deficient account opening and closing procedures, and isolated instances of employee misconduct.”

Regulators have not named specific banks which they are investigating, and representatives say the OCC will likely not make the report public. attorneys are investigating fake bank account practices at a variety of financial institutions including: Bank of America, BOK Financial, Capital One, HSBC, Royal Bank of Canada and TD Bank.

Consumers who believe they may have had a fake bank account opened in their name without consent, by Bank of America or another bank, can monitor for a variety of changes which may indicate fraudulent accounts. These changes include overdraft fees, bank fees, interest charges, and credit report changes.

Overdraft fees occurring during the Wells Fargo fake bank account scandal often occurred because employees would move money from an existing account in order to open a new fake bank account. Since consumers were not aware of this, they were operating under the assumption that their bank account balance was higher than it was in reality. This resulted in overdraft fees since their accounts had less money than they thought.

Bank fees also occurred during the Wells Fargo fake bank account scandal. One consumer reported that she was charged a $29.95 fee on her bank account. This happened because an employee had changed her account so that it required her to maintain a balance of $5,000. This upgrade was unauthorized and, when her account fell bellow the balance, she was charged a fee.

Interest may be charged if an authorized credit card was opened in a consumer name without their consumer. Interest charges with unsure origins may be the sign of a fake bank account.

The simplest change to monitor for is by checking for credit report changes. If a credit card is opened without a consumer consent, it will appear on their credit report.