Wells Fargo Failing to Protect Customers as Zelle Scams Soar, Sen. Warren Charges in Letter

Sen. Elizabeth Warren is tightening the pressure on Wells Fargo CEO Charles Scharf, just one among major bank executives that the Massachusetts Democrat is targeting amid evidence of repeat fraud on Zelle, the instant-payments system owned by seven of the U.S.’s largest banks.

In a letter dated Oct. 6 but made public Thursday, Warren told Scharf the “alarming pattern” of Zelle misuse was made worse by his bank’s refusal to make its Zelle scam and fraud data public. Scharf had shared some data with the lawmaker, but stressed proprietary protections, which Warren respected, but disliked.

Data, in some cases sourced by Warren’s repeat requests, suggests that hundreds of thousands of defrauded customers have had little recourse for recovering stolen cash. By constrast, credit card fraud is typically covered by the card issuers.

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