Some time ago, I checked my online Wells Fargo bank account and saw two transfers for a total of $3500 to a Dell Computer online account. I called my account rep at Wells Fargo and they stopped the transfer. But only because I caught it so quickly.
My online account ledger showed the following:
08/11/08 DELL ONLINE PMT 080810 0000 C1472E4D2C8501C0 $2,500.00
08/04/08 DELL ONLINE PMT 080803 0000 C1472E4D2C8501C0 $1,000.00
Someone had ordered some Dell computer items using my bank account. Wells Fargo had no clue how to identify the beneficiary account, and only sent me the following history:
08/12/08 CITICCSWEB 0000 0 $2,500.00
08/11/08 DELL HIST RTN 080811 0000 C1472E4D2C8501C0 $1,000.00
I spent the next month in an absoƖute mind boggling futile attempt to get anyone to take responsibility and trace the attempted theft. Wells Fargo, Dell Computer, and Citibank online cards (the intermediary bank in the transaction) all said they didn't have the technical capability to pinpoint where the money was directed to! Citibank never even responded to my Wells Fargo account reps' calls. Their only response to my emails was to suggest I contact a credit bureau to protect my identity. I was dumbfounded.
I closed my account after all this happened. But it is unnerving to me that someone with a Dell online account (or any number of other online financial systems), can reach into someone else's account, pick their pocket, and totally get away with it if the victim doesn't notice it in time to stop the transfer. How can a bank execute an online transfer request from account A to account B, but not be able to figure out who account B is?
Is there any law enforcement agency who has the ability and interest to track down these bad guys? And has there been any progress with banks to be able to trace the recipient account on this kind of thing? I've never checked with the credit report organizations about this, but it's occurring to me as I write this that maybe they're the ones I should have gone to in the first place.
My online account ledger showed the following:
08/11/08 DELL ONLINE PMT 080810 0000 C1472E4D2C8501C0 $2,500.00
08/04/08 DELL ONLINE PMT 080803 0000 C1472E4D2C8501C0 $1,000.00
Someone had ordered some Dell computer items using my bank account. Wells Fargo had no clue how to identify the beneficiary account, and only sent me the following history:
08/12/08 CITICCSWEB 0000 0 $2,500.00
08/11/08 DELL HIST RTN 080811 0000 C1472E4D2C8501C0 $1,000.00
I spent the next month in an absoƖute mind boggling futile attempt to get anyone to take responsibility and trace the attempted theft. Wells Fargo, Dell Computer, and Citibank online cards (the intermediary bank in the transaction) all said they didn't have the technical capability to pinpoint where the money was directed to! Citibank never even responded to my Wells Fargo account reps' calls. Their only response to my emails was to suggest I contact a credit bureau to protect my identity. I was dumbfounded.
I closed my account after all this happened. But it is unnerving to me that someone with a Dell online account (or any number of other online financial systems), can reach into someone else's account, pick their pocket, and totally get away with it if the victim doesn't notice it in time to stop the transfer. How can a bank execute an online transfer request from account A to account B, but not be able to figure out who account B is?
Is there any law enforcement agency who has the ability and interest to track down these bad guys? And has there been any progress with banks to be able to trace the recipient account on this kind of thing? I've never checked with the credit report organizations about this, but it's occurring to me as I write this that maybe they're the ones I should have gone to in the first place.