Robert Branagh, a long-time Wells Fargo business account holder, has been the latest victim of unauthorized withdrawals and transfers totaling just under $150,000. Despite filing a fraudulent claim immediately, he was unable to recover more than $24,000 that was illegally transferred from his Volusia County business account to a personal account.
Branagh expressed his frustration and confusion, stating that he has yet to receive any answers from Wells Fargo about who authorized the transfers. Under Nacha rules, a fraudulent Automated Clearing House (ACH) or business transfer must be reported to the bank within two business days. However, the first breach took place on Aug. 17 and was not noticed until Aug. 29 after a total of $149,296.48 was taken in a series of withdrawals.
According to bank records, a final withdrawal of $10,000 was taken out of Branagh’s business account on Aug. 28 and later $530 dollars were taken out of his daughter’s account on Aug. 29. A representative from the U.S. Secret Service Orlando office suggested that the account may have been tested by a potential buyer of stolen accounts as the small withdrawals suggested testing to see if the account was active before escalating into larger withdrawals totaling just under $150,000.
To prevent such incidents from happening again in the future, anyone with a checking or savings account should check their accounts every day and report any suspicious activity immediately to local law enforcement or the U.S