Customers noticed the deception when they received credit or debit cards in the mail that they did not request, saw unauthorized fees on their bank statements or started getting harangued by debt collectors about accounts they had never opened. Most of the sham accounts went unnoticed, however, as employees routinely closed them shortly after opening them.
In 2017, Wells Fargo was caught overcharging clients on currency trades and improperly charging homebuyers to lock into low mortgage rates.