Charlotte’s biggest banks work out plan for customers scammed by Zelle

CHARLOTTE — Some of the biggest banks in Charlotte are coming up with a refund plan for customers scammed by Zelle, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The report said Bank of America, Wells Fargo and the five other banks that own Zelle are working on a plan to determine whether or not a customer was tricked into sending money through Zelle. If the bank determines someone was scammed, they will be reimbursed.

According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, banks are supposed to refund any customer money lost to fraud or scam-whether or not the customer authorized the transaction.

Getting a reimbursement is not as easy as it sounds. Andrew Brown, a lawyer for plaintiffs, says the road to a refund is a long one with a lot of reasons to deny a claim.

“They look for any reason they can to deny a request to get reimbursed from an unauthorized transaction,” said Brown.

A U.S. Senate report from October found that banks are hesitant to help victims of scams and fraud. In 2021, the report found that there were over 190,000 reports of Zelle scams, but only 3,500 victims were paid back.

(WATCH BELOW: Report: Fraud and theft are growing on Zelle)