Customers at JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Bank of America have collectively lost $870 million to Zelle scammers over the past seven years, according to a powerful U.S. banking regulator.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) says it is suing the three banking giants and Zelle’s parent company for failing to protect people from widespread fraud on the popular payments network.
The lawsuit, which has been anticipated for months, alleges that hundreds of thousands of the banks’ customers have filed fraud complaints and have largely been denied assistance. Some were told to contact the fraudsters directly to get their money back.
“Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo also allegedly failed to properly investigate complaints or provide consumers with legally required compensation for fraud and errors.
The CFPB seeks to stop the alleged unlawful practices, secure remedies and penalties, and obtain other relief.”
The CFPB alleges widespread consumer losses and security failures on the part of the banks, saying the lenders implemented limited identity verification measures, allowed repeat offenders to switch between banks, ignored customer red flags and abandoned customers after fraud had occurred.
CFPB Director Rohit Chopra says the banks, which co-own Zelle, rushed to launch the platform without properly addressing security concerns.
“The nation’s largest banks felt threatened by competing payment apps, so they rushed to release Zelle.
By failing to implement proper security measures, Zelle became a gold mine for fraudsters, while victims were often left to fend for themselves.”
Zelle says it is fully prepared to defend itself in court.
“The CFPB’s attacks on Zelle are legally and factually flawed, and the timing of this lawsuit appears to be determined by political factors unrelated to Zelle.
Zelle leads the fight against scams and fraud and has an industry-leading refund policy that goes above and beyond the law.”
JPMorgan Chase has previously said it may sue the CFPB over the Zelle investigation, saying the agency is “going beyond what the law requires.”
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