21-year-old Wells Fargo customer loses all his money in scam

College student scammed out of all his money

A 21-year-old college senior loses all of his money in a scam involving Wells Fargo, and the bank says they will not give him his money back.

HOUSTON - Wells Fargo says it empathizes with victims of financial scams. However, the bank's clear, customers who answer spoofed phone calls, and do what they are told will not get their money back.

College student scammed out of all his money

What they're saying:

"I had gotten a call from a Wells Fargo number, and they told me there was a purchase in California for $899," said college student Kaleb Richardson. "Asked if I authorized this transaction, I said no."

"They said in order to make your account secure, we need to do some things to secure your money," said Kaleb's dad, Fred Richardson.

Kaleb followed the callers instructions and put all his money, $4,400, into his Apple Wallet.

The caller gave him a new virtual card, Kaleb thought. In reality, his account was drained, leaving him with nothing.

He says he's now working two jobs to make up for the huge financial hit.

"I feel sorry for my son," Fred said. "He's a great kid, a strong-minded individual, a God fearing child, and a great student."

The other side:

In a statement, Wells Fargo said, "We deeply empathize with those affected by financial scams. Preventing scams is a priority for us. We have taken considerable action to combat criminals, including ongoing education efforts to raise awareness of common scams – as an informed consumer is the strongest defense."

Wells Fargo also provided several tips that you can follow to help avoid being scammed: 

• Don’t trust caller ID: Scammers can spoof legitimate phone numbers.
• Providing personal information such as One-Time passcodes, passwords, or a PIN can give scammers access to your account and your funds.
• 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.
• Scammers will try to rush you into taking action, so you won’t take time to stop, think, and verify facts.
• Don’t be pressured or rushed into making a transaction.