Description

Caller first identified itself as Wells Fargo Bank, then when I said I had no accounts at Wells Fargo, they said they were handling fraudulent transactions through the Zelle app, which most big banks use. They said someone in Bronx, NY, used my phone number and Zelle account to send 2 transactions to the Dominican Republic, one for $2000 and one for $3000. In order to cancel and reverse these transactions and protect the money in my account, I had to download Western Union app, Paypal app, Xoom app, and start accounts (which I didn't have) with these apps and connect my bank accounts through Plaid and then make make a series of money transfers to their "agents" in DR to envelop and protect the amounts and reverse the paper trail of the fraudulent transactions. I stupidly went along with all this for 3 hours on the phone, and 3 different "agents." And not until we hung up because all the apps were not interconnecting and all the 6 transactions they had me attempt were pending, did I realize how stupid and ridiculous this whole endeavor was. I hadn't received any fraud alerts from my bank and I could see no pending fraudulent transactions in my accounts, so there was no reason to even speak with these people in the first place. I immediately called the fraud line at my bank, and a rep froze all my accounts and the debit card and explained I should get my phone checked for malware, file a police report, and probably close the targeted accounts and open new checking and savings.