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Update:
- A Seattle resident who filed a class action lawsuit alleging Wells Fargo and Zelle fail to protect customers from scammers who use Zelle’s mobile payment app has dropped his claims.
- Plaintiff Luke Hartsock filed a notice of voluntary dismissal without prejudice June 28 in a Washington federal court.
- The reasoning behind his withdrawal was not outlined in the notice.
- The case alleged that Wells Fargo and Early Warning Services LLC, which operates Zelle, fail to take enough actions to protect their banking customers.
- Hartsock said thieves who targeted Wells Fargo bank customers through Zelle scammed him out of $7,500, and that the bank would not reimburse him.
Wells Fargo Zelle class action lawsuit overview:
- Who: Wells Fargo and Zelle have been hit with a class action by a customer who says he was scammed out of $7,500.
- Why: The plaintiff says he was scammed by thieves targeting Wells Fargo customers through Zelle.
- Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in Washington federal court.
(June 3, 2022)
Wells Fargo and Zelle fail to protect customers from scammers who use Zelle’s mobile payment app to steal from the bank’s customers’ accounts, a new class action lawsuit alleges.
Plaintiff Luke Hartsock filed the class action lawsuit against the two financial giants June 1 in a Washington federal court, alleging negligence and violations of consumer protection laws.
According to the lawsuit, thieves who target Wells Fargo bank customers through Zelle scammed Hartsock out of $7,500.
On two occasions, Hartsock says a con mimicked Wells Fargo’s identity and the texts and phone calls that the bank uses to communicate with customers in cases of fraud. The scammer even mimicked a Wells Fargo customer service agent, asking him to send money, he says..
Hartsock disputed the transactions with Wells Fargo, but the bank initially refused to reimburse him, he says in the class action. Wells Fargo eventually credited $3,500 to his account, but Hartsock says he is still seeking the additional $4,000.
Wells Fargo, Zelle aware of widespread fraud, class action claims
According to the lawsuit, Wells Fargo and Early Warning Services LLC, which operates Zelle, fail to take enough actions to protect their banking customers.
He says the companies are aware of the widespread fraud and that Zelle is vulnerable to scammers but aren’t willing to invest in further protections.
“The immediacy of Zelle’s service has made it a favorite primarily among consumers, but that has made it a favorite among criminals, who can access bank accounts directly,” the class action lawsuit says. “Once scammers can scare or trick their victims into sending money via Zelle, they can siphon away thousands of dollars in seconds.”
The lawsuit is suing for negligence and violations of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act and the Washington Consumer Protection Act.
Hartsock seeks certification of the class action, damages, fees, costs and a jury trial. He wants to represent all Wells Fargo account holders who have unresolved disputed withdrawals from using Zelle.
Meanwhile, a consumer hit Navy Federal Credit Union with a class action lawsuit alleging it fails to properly inform its account holders that they will not be reimbursed for any financial losses caused by fraud on Zelle.
If you are a Wells Fargo customer and you have been charged an overdraft fee on a debit card purchase within the last year, you may qualify to join a Wells Fargo overdraft fee arbitration action (links to paid attorney content).
Have you been scammed through Zelle? Let us know your experience in the comments!
Hartsock is represented by Laura R. Gerber and Nathan L. Nanfelt of Keller Rohrback LLP.
The Wells Fargo Zelle Class Action Lawsuit is Luke Hartsock v. Wells Fargo & Co. et al., Case No. 2:22-cv-00759, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.
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59 thoughts onWells Fargo class action over Zelle fraud dropped
Wellsfargo Zelle scam. The bank said I needed to straighten my acct . They took $495.00 from me . I called Wellsfargo many times they said I did it which I didn’t. So I am out of my money.
On 9/9/22 someone called me from Wells Fargo and told me they were strange activities going on Wells Fargo account. The person knew the name of everyone that I ever sent money too. Including my granddaughter who lives with me. They sent $950.00 dollars to her. The person told me to tell my granddaughter to send the money back. I did and that caused her to overdraft on her account. It was so stressful to get my money back from wells Fargo. I’m retired I had bills to pay none were paid including my electric bills they all charged me late fees. They gave me their fax number and requested a letter from Wells Fargo explaining why my bills is 2 months behind. Wells Fargo refused to help I call every day. They transferred me from one person to another. This month someone tried to take money scam me again.
I can’t believe that law suit was dropped there is definitely something going on between Zelle and Wells Fargo please reopen the lawsuit and add my name.
They should be responsible for not keeping their customers information safe.
Did I read right that the class action lawsuit against Wells Fargo and zelle we’re dropped. You got to be kidding me I lost $2,000 on a zella scam Wells Fargo wouldn’t even listen to me I’m out $2,000 I can’t afford that I’m a disable on fixed income. So what do we do now
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Add me to the list! Zelle took $350.00 from my savings account without permission. I’ve never even linked or used that account with zelle
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I made a fraud claim because 2k was stolen from my account through unauthorized transactions and same thing with cashapp for 918. They approve me for the cash app 918 and was given my money back but they refuse to do anything about the zelle because it was “secure” and under authorization of someone with access to my account. But j did none of that and had never even set up an account to use zelle. They won’t even try to look further into investigation even though the zelle and cash app transactions are to the same person. I need help and I want Justice because I can’t be losing 2k.
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I got a $2850 dollar check from a girl named Katherine Bowen that I met on a Facebook Housing group who was going to take over my apartment lease. I also got a photo of her Drivers License so she could prove she was real. It was from Bank of America and looked like a legit check from the outside. She said the money was from her company to accommodate housing and moving fees. She said she need $1800 to pay off the movers and the rest would be used for the first months rent. She asked if I could deposit the check and use part of that money to pay the movers for her as she wasnt able to get two separate checks for me and the movers. I deposited the check and saw the money in my account. However, I still called WellsFargo and asked them in the money was in my account and ready to use. They confirmed they saw the deposit and told me everything was fine. They gave me now warning about the check possibly bouncing. I went ahead and paid the movers through Zelle. A few days later, all the money from the check was removed from my account. I could also no longer contact Katherine. I called WellsFargo and they said it was a bad check and took no responsibility for the initial call when they confirmed the money was in my account. If they had given me the slightest warning that once the money is in, it can be taken out, I would have never sent the money. This means that since it was a bad check, I paid the movers $1800 dollars of my own money. I have been taking to WellsFargo for months trying to get the money back as it was sent thru Zelle, which is ran by them. However, after filing claim after claim, they told me it wasn’t possible because I knowingly sent the money. I have so much proof that this girl was a scam and all I asked is if they look into the account this money was sent to but they won’t even do that. Now, they are saying there is no way I can get my money back.
There are so many incidents of scammers using Zelle to get money from people. I was as careful as I could be and trusted my bank which now I realized is where the problem was. I just want WellsFargo to be held accountable for not giving the proper information to their customers and not helping them when dealing with scams.
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wells Fargo did nothing when I called and complained about the zelle xfer that was not authorized. I had fraud activity and the scammers even changed my contact info on my wells Fargo acct so they would receive the access code instead of me. wells Fargo did nothing.
I was scammed through Wells Fargo Zelle for $3,000 May 6 this year.
Total scam and Wells Fargo fraud department are SHEISTERS. I have been lied to and given the run-around since this happened!