Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.
Zelle fraud class action lawsuits overview:
- Who: Bank customers recently filed class action lawsuits against Capital One, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Navy Federal Credit Union and Zelle.
- Why: Customers claim the financial institutions do not do enough to protect them from fraudulent activity on Zelle’s digital peer-to-peer payment platform.
- Where: The class action lawsuits have been filed in U.S. federal courts.
Consumers filed a number of class action lawsuits recently against financial institutions accused of not protecting account holders who were financially injured after being defrauded while using the digital peer-to-peer payment platform Zelle.
An influx of scams targeting Zelle users prompted a pair of U.S. senators to write a letter in April to the owner of Zelle, warning it about the amount of fraud perpetrated on the platform.
Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Robert Menendez, D-N.J., accused Zelle owner Early Warning Services LLC of not doing enough to prevent fraud from occurring on the platform.
The Democratic senators also placed blame on Zelle’s owner banks, including Capital One, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Truist.
“We seek to understand the extent to which Zelle allows fraud to flourish and the steps your company is taking to increase consumer protection and help users recover lost funds,” the senators wrote.
Consumers, meanwhile, have since begun going after financial institutions, claiming they are not doing enough to protect them from falling victim of Zelle fraud.
Capital One class action accuses bank of refusal to reimburse Zelle fraud victims
Earlier this month, a Capital One customer who claims he was the victim of a Zelle scam filed a class action lawsuit against the bank, arguing it declines to reimburse account holders who are scammed or exposed to fraud on Zelle.
“Despite the plaintiff’s timely alerting Capital One of the fraud, Capital One refused to reimburse him for the losses,” the class action lawsuit states.
The consumer behind the class action lawsuit claims Capital One told him it would be unable to put a stop payment on a money transfer made through Zelle that ended up falling into the hands of a scammer.
Wells Fargo class action alleges company fails to protect customers from fraud
Also this month, a consumer filed a class action lawsuit against Wells Fargo and Zelle over claims the companies fail to protect them from scammers who target Zelle mobile payment app users.
The consumer behind the class action lawsuit claims he was scammed out of $7,500, with Wells Fargo eventually reimbursing them for $3,500, after a scammer pretending to be with the bank convinced them to send funds.
In addition to allegedly initially declining to reimburse him, the consumer argues Wells Fargo and Zelle aren’t willing to put more protections in place that would help prevent their customers from becoming fraud victims.
“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 states. “Once scammers can scare or trick their victims into sending money via Zelle, they can siphon away thousands of dollars in seconds.”
Bank Of America class action claims financial institution fails to disclose risks of Zelle
A consumer also hit Bank of America with a class action lawsuit this month that alleges the financial institution fails to disclose to its account holders the risks of using Zelle for money transfers.
Further, the consumer behind the class action lawsuit argues Bank of America declines to reimburse customers who are victims of fraud through Zelle and that there is “virtually no recourse for consumers to recoup losses due to fraud.”
Navy Federal class action accuses credit union of failing to keep reimbursement promise
Navy Federal Credit Union, meanwhile, faces claims that it fails to keep its promise that it will reimburse account holders who lose money from fraudulent activity on Zelle.
Further, the Navy Federal class action accuses the credit union of misrepresenting to its customers the safety of using Zelle for money transfers.
“(Navy Federal) misrepresents and omits a key fact about the service that is unknown to accountholders: that there is virtually no recourse for consumers to recoup losses due to fraud,” the class action states.
The consumer behind the complaint claims Navy Federal has a “secret policy” of not reimbursing account holders who suffer financial losses due to fraudulent activity on Zelle, regardless of whether or not it is reported right away.
Has your bank refused to reimburse you after you suffered financial losses due to fraud on Zelle? Let us know in the comments!
Don’t Miss Out!
Check out our list of Class Action Lawsuits and Class Action Settlements you may qualify to join!
Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:
629 thoughts onZelle fraud cases mount as consumers file class action lawsuits
Issue: Zelle Profile Locked Due to Discover/Zelle unannounced “maintenance”
My phone number is locked to my Zelle profile that was linked to my Discover bank account. Since the “maintenance” was unannounced; all phone numbers and email addresses linked via Zelle at the time were unethically restricted and locked with NO solution whatsoever. Contacted Customer Service reps at both parties and they provided me with ABSOLUTELY ZERO assistance. Each party just stated that the other party was responsible providing a “fix”— pointing the finger at each other like children.
Tried to re-link my phone number to another bank account I have at a different institution; DID NOT WORK. Also, downloaded the standalone Zelle app and attempted to sign in with my phone number to manually link a new debit card; DID NOT WORK.
This is TOTALLY unethical for businesses to do this to their customers. Discover Bank even still advertises Zelle features, despite the feature being ‘currently unavailable’…. COMPLETE BULLSH*T! Hopefully this bait-and-switch advertising and downright wrong operations of BOTH companies are greeted with a much deserved Class Action Lawsuit.
“…on the HIGHWAY TO HELL!” more like “HIGHWAY TO **ZELLE!”
To Discover and Zelle, get your sh*t together and make right with customers for your fraudulent actions!
I had a 2500 payment made that wasn’t by me when I refutted iti was denied reimbursement
Add me
I was recently denied by PNC Bank for a chargeback for an online purchase of a gun for $1295 to be delivered to the FFL License holder near me. Two days later I received and email to Zelle a payment over to the Ship My Gun to “insure” the delivery of the gun. I went to the gun store to receive and they told me it doesn’t work that way. I immediately went to my bank to report the fraud. I have all the emails and text messages and they still denied me. According the Federal Regulation E of banking law they are required to protect the customer from any online or wire transfers
I was scammed for $2000 plus for a service I never got I have all the information they pretended to be BG food company and send me a fraudulent check which bounce three days after and I spoke to my bank and zelle and they told me nothing can be done
add me, chase won’t reimburse from having paid zelle 225.00 for a company on google that is fraudulent.
I was scammed through Zelle/ PNC Bank and even reached out as high as their executive office in Pittsburg, PA and they flat out told me it was my fault and refused to do anything even after showing them proof of the fake scammer and conversation.
I was scammed out of 500.00 and Zelle would not reimburse me , also my bank is called Busey bank and they promoted Zelle on their site to transfer money. So I was told by Zelle that Busey bank purchased the Zelle platform for their banking customers could use to transfer money so I would have to go to my bank to get my mo ey back. They said no. They said they would contact Zelle on my behalf but Zelle told my bank no. I reported it to my police department and the fbi. But no help so far in getting my money back. It’s sad because I’m fully disabled from fighting breast cancer for 9 years and 500.00 is a lot for me to lose. Please help me. The government needs to shut these people down. Plus they called me a second time today. I said I know who you are you are scammers! You got me once but not again! These are truly evil people
Wells Fargo did it to me also
USAA claimed they they’ve investigated a fraudulent transaction through Zelle, where $999 was stollen from my account. Someone hacked my account through USAA app. After 3 months of so called “investigation” I was told that they were not liable for the activity and that Zelle was not responsive. This is not the first time that USAA has failed to protect my account from fraudulent activity. I will be closing this account,
Was victim as well. Bank with WesBanco waiting to hear from them. Please add me to suit
This happened to me at Citibank and M&T Bank. Please add me!