ATLANTA — It’s become a common scheme – scammers calling you pretending to be with your bank wanting you to use Zelle to send money.
After reporting on the scam for years, Channel 2 consumer investigator Justin Gray has reported that there are supposed to be new protections in place for consumers with Zelle.
The money app announced a new policy last year, putting more pressure on banks to reimburse victims.
But some consumers are still finding out the hard way -- don’t expect money back.
A recent victim who asked only to be identified as Angie said her troubles began when someone called her husband.
“The number said Wells Fargo,” Angie said.
So he picked up. Angie said the caller pretended to be with the bank’s fraud department and asked if they had made certain questionable transactions. Her husband said no.
“They’re like, ‘Don’t worry. We’re going to make you whole,’” Angie said.
She said the caller walked him through a complicated set of steps using Zelle to allegedly get their money back. But it was all a con to steal their money instead.
“In the end, it came out to be about $4,000,” Angie said.
Last November, Zelle announced a new policy that banks “must reimburse consumers for qualifying imposter scams.”
The key word there turns out to be “qualifying.”
Angie’s case was still denied.
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In a letter, Wells Fargo wrote it was because she or her husband “authorized” the transaction. The same reason many consumers have had trouble getting refunds all along.
“It’s a lot of money and it was a time. Bills were coming due. I have a daughter in college, I have things to do. And it’s a lot of money just to be thrown away,” Angie said.
Zelle told us “Not every case of a scammer impersonating a bank qualifies for reimbursement.”
And when asked which cases do qualify, the company said, “We cannot share our criteria, as it would provide a roadmap to criminals.”
Wells Fargo wouldn’t comment on the specifics of this case but said in a statement: “We have robust security measures in place and conduct thorough investigations when fraud or scams are reported, before making a claim decision.”
Wells Fargo also warns customers not to trust caller ID. You can always wait and validate. Hang up and call your bank directly yourself.
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