Wells Fargo denies a South Carolina couple's fraud claim after $72,360 drained overnight — could your bank do the same?

But the scary truth is, even if you have your guard up and heed warnings, there’s a chance that scammers could still get away with your hard-earned money.

That’s what one South Carolina couple says happened to them. On May 11, they woke up to find tens of thousands of dollars were missing from their accounts. They say there was no warning, no messages — just wire transfers that they didn’t authorize.

Their bank apologized, but denied the couple’s fraud claim.

‘I didn’t authorize it’

According to a report from WJCL 22 News, Melanie and Jack Anderson, from Bluffton, S.C., have filed a lawsuit against Wells Fargo after they say $72,360 was taken from their accounts.

“I woke up and went to my computer like I do every day. And I looked at my Wells Fargo account, and there was a wire transfer for $22,500 out of my checking and $49,860 out of my savings, and I had no knowledge of that. I didn’t authorize it,” Melanie Anderson told WJCL.

The couple told the outlet the wire transfers happened at 1 a.m. and 4 a.m., after someone gained access to their accounts. They reported the incident to the bank branch the next morning and filed reports with the local police and the FBI.

The Andersons told WJCL that they received a letter from Wells Fargo within days, denying their claim, and stating that the bank’s verification system had worked.

“Both claims were denied because the transactions were processed in accordance with the Online Access Agreement, which states that transfer requests verified through established security procedures are considered authorized,” the letter reads.

“We understand you may have unknowingly participated in a fraud scheme. While you may have acted in good faith, we can’t assume liability for financial transactions a customer negotiates or otherwise authorizes with unknown individuals.”

“I was furious,” Melanie Anderson told WJCL. “How can you deny it? I didn’t authorize it, you didn’t ask me about it, you didn’t text me, you didn’t call me, nothing.”

According to WJCL, the lawsuit filed by the Andersons’ attorney alleges that hackers stole the Andersons’ online banking information and made the transfers.

“The lawsuit claims the transfers were unprecedented, occurred overnight, and lacked multi-factor or live confirmation. It also alleges Wells Fargo denied the claims without conducting a meaningful investigation, providing provisional credit, or making prompt recall efforts,” the WJCL report says.

“The Andersons are people who didn’t do anything wrong,” their attorney, Dave Maxfield, told the outlet.

WJCL reported that the Andersons’ lawsuit has been moved to federal court and their attorney says arbitration may be possible.

Wells Fargo did not immediately respond to Moneywise’s request for comment. In an email to WJCL, the bank declined to comment on the lawsuit.

“We have no comment on the lawsuit, but we deeply empathize with those affected by financial scams and understand the significant emotional and financial toll they take.”

Lawsuits around the country

The Anderson’s case reflects a larger debate around fraud reimbursement. In 2024, New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit against Citibank for allegedly “failing to protect and refusing to reimburse victims of fraud.”

Part of the suit hinges on the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA). Courts have traditionally interpreted that law as excluding wire transfers, which have instead been governed under the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC).

According to a post from Iowa law firm Dickinson Bradshaw, “Under the UCC, a bank that validates the identity of the sender of a wire transfer using a commercially reasonable security procedure generally avoids liability if it is later determined the wire transfer was unauthorized.”