Bank of America, Zelle Under Fire Over Allegedly Unauthorized Account Withdrawals

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A proposed class action lawsuit claims Bank of America and mobile app Zelle made numerous unauthorized withdrawals from a California consumer’s bank account in January 2023.

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The 13-page lawsuit alleges Bank of America and the company behind Zelle, Early Warning Services, wrongfully allowed a series of withdrawals from the plaintiff’s bank account on January 18, ranging from $5 to $192 and totaling $682. Each withdrawal, which contained the description “Zelle Transfer Conf#” followed by a unique code, appeared as a Zelle transaction in the plaintiff’s account, though the woman neither initiated nor authorized the payments, the suit relays.

The plaintiff believes that the unauthorized withdrawals were triggered by the defendants’ “internal system[s],” the case says.

Accountholders like the plaintiff trust Bank of America to store their funds safely and release them only upon express authorization, the complaint states. However, the plaintiff claims that similar unauthorized withdrawals were taken from hundreds, if not thousands, of other individuals with Bank of America accounts and Zelle—an app which allows the easy transfer of money from one account to another, the filing explains.

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone residing in California who had unauthorized Zelle withdrawals from their Bank of America account at any time since February 24, 2019.

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