Consumers defrauded by telemarketers can file claims

Wachovia Bank has entered into a settlement agreement with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to pay restitution to consumers who were defrauded by certain telemarketers and third party payment processors. The companies that defrauded consumers included Payment Processing Center, LLC, FTN Promotions, Inc. dba Suntasia, Inc., Netchex Corp., and Your Money Access LLC, and related companies.

After an 18-month investigation, the OCC determined that the companies were getting bank account information over the phone and withdrawing funds from the accounts without authorization. The telemarketers had very a very high number of their transactions returned by the consumers as unauthorized. This high rate should have alerted the bank that these account holders were engaging in fraudulent transactions. Wachovia is believed to have participated in these fraudulent schemes because it profited from the fees collected on the telemarketers' accounts and transactions.