Houston-area mega-church pastor falls victim to scheme targeting Wells Fargo customers

Houston-area pastor loses $18K in Wells Fargo scam

A pastor from a local mega-church says he won't be getting his money back after losing about $18,000 to someone posing as Wells Fargo. He talks to FOX 26's Randy Wallace about what happened and the scammers' vulgar response over the phone.

HOUSTON - Wells Fargo says they're reviewing the case of a Houston-area pastor who says he lost over $18,000 in an elaborate scheme.

Bryan McAnally didn't pick his career as a pastor. God did.

"Almost 30 years ago, I couldn't deny it. God was calling me to serve people in local churches, so I said yes," he said.

Houston-area pastor loses $18K

What they're saying:

On July 30th, McAnally says his wife got a text from Wells Fargo,

"Asking if she had made a purchase for $4,000 to a Bass Pro Shop in Miami, Florida," said Bryan. "She responded with one word: ‘No.’ They called her immediately, presenting themselves as the Wells Fargo Fraud Detection services team."

Bryan says neither he nor his wife gave the caller a PIN or any information about their account, yet the caller had complete access and total control. 

The caller found another fraudulent transaction for $5,000 also in Miami.

Bryan says the caller told them he was transferring all the money in their accounts to an Apple Cash card where it would be safe until it was transferred into their new Wells Fargo account.

That didn't happen.

Once the caller drained the family's accounts of more than $18,000, the caller hung up.

Bryan says when he called the number back.

"The first time I called them back, they actually said they were WalMart customer service. I said, ‘Well that’s not right.' So I hung up, and I thought, ‘Maybe I dialed the wrong number,’ but I didn't," he said. "Then I dialed again, and they said, 'Wells Fargo fraud detection services."

Bryan then says the person who answered laughed and made lewd remarks.

He says the bank told him his money wouldn't be returned.

What's next:

A spokesperson for Wells Fargo told us they've reopened Bryan's case for another review.