2 more Wells Fargo customers get thousands back that they lost in an elaborate scheme 

Wells Fargo returns stolen funds after FOX 26 Report

Two more Wells Fargo customers got thousands of dollars back that they lost during an elaborate scheme.

HOUSTON - The schemes targeting 52-year-old Paul Schendel and Scott Merovitch are almost identical. Both got phone calls with caller ID that read Wells Fargo.

2 customers get thousands back that they lost in scheme

The caller told them both there were fraudulent transactions and even told them about legitimate charges made, making them confident they were talking to the bank.

A woman showed up at their house claiming to work for Wells Fargo security, she cut up their debit cards and put them in an envelope.

Wells Fargo initially denied both men a refund, even accusing them of taking part or knowing who was behind the stolen funds.

Scott lost $20,000 while Paul lost $6,800.

Sadly, Paul died from a heart attack the day after Wells Fargo told him he wasn't getting his money back.

His sister, Karen Schendel and Uncle Ben Mayberry, believe the stress of losing the money may have played a part in Paul's heart attack.

Wells Fargo told FOX 26, after thorough investigations and after receiving additional information, they returned the money to both customers accounts.

Scott, Karen, and Ben say they believe our reports played a part in getting the money back.

The other side:

Wells Fargo sent a statement to FOX 26 saying,

"We appreciate these matters being brought to our attention and having the opportunity to resolve them for our customers. While we cannot provide details on these cases to protect our security procedures, we can share that we reached these resolutions following thorough investigations and after receiving additional information. We are committed to protecting our customers and stopping criminals from engaging in fraudulent activity.

It’s important to note that every case we review is unique. For each case, we carefully investigate all details and all information available to us, including all information provided by our customer, before making a claim decision. In some cases, a claim denial can be overturned if we later receive sufficient evidence that supports the reversal.

Wells Fargo also provided tips and information to protect yourself:

• Wells Fargo will never ask you to give us or mail your physical card and/or PIN number to prevent fraud or scams. If anyone asks you to do that, it's a scam.
• Scammers will try to rush you into taking action, so you won’t take time to stop, think, and verify facts.
• Don’t trust caller ID: Scammers can spoof legitimate phone numbers.
• Common tactics include asking you to provide sensitive personal information or to send money to help stop a phony transaction or receive a refund.
• Your bank won’t ask you to send a payment or your physical card to prevent or stop fraud in your account. If you get a call asking for that, immediately hang up and call your bank directly.
• Providing personal information such as One-Time passcodes, passwords, or PIN can give scammers access to your account and your funds.
• Don’t be pressured or rushed into making a transaction.
• If you are uncomfortable with a request received by phone call or text that you didn’t initiate, don’t respond and hang up immediately. Contact the company using legitimate sources.

Our work to prevent scams is a priority and we’re increasing our education efforts through alerts in online banking sessions, mobile app, various customer communications, displaying warning notifications, through our Online Security Center, and resources like our Security Brochure.