Fidelity Investment sent me $0.00. Fraud?

[PinotGris]

My bank account shows a credit transaction of 0.00 made a few days ago. The Bank (TD Bank) is unable to get us any useful information about where it came from. Apparently Fidelity, or wherever it is coming from, had our name. The response from my bank explains that it is a way for the to Payee to confirm this account exist. To me this looks very suspicious, as the beginning of of some kind of scam where money from Fidelity is fraudulently being transferred to our Bank account.
We have had no relationship with Fidelity since we moved all our accounts over to Vanguard - 10, 12 years ago. They are not one of our payee, ever.
Has anyone had any such experience? Any thoughts?

[arcticpineapplecorp.]

only when I've made a request to move money initially from one bank to another do I get that but it's not $0; there's usually a small deposit like $0.13 or $0.05 sometimes two such transactions then you tell the bank what the two test deposits are (and then they remove them the next day) and allow the transfer of funds you requested.

if you didn't initiate a transfer that is suspicious. I guess you can call Fidelity to inquire and see if someone is attempting to move funds from your account to fidelity or it could be an honest mistake too.

let us know what you find out!

[rbd789]

I have not experienced this, but I would not worry about it. I believe a fraudster would use a small, but reasonable, amount for a test transfer, say $83.99. I don't believe they would use zero, as that is bound to raise eyebrows and questions, which is the last thing they would want.

[LotsaGray]

So you are concerned the $ at Fido might get fraudulently transfere$ to your bank acct. So what is your specific concern? I realize it is concerning if $xxxx shoes up in your bank account but since you don’t have money at Fido I would not worry until it happens. You obviously made TD bank aware so I suspect they are doing 2hat they should be doing

[bd7]

My bank account shows a credit transaction of 0.00 made a few days ago. The Bank (TD Bank) is unable to get us any useful information about where it came from. Apparently Fidelity, or wherever it is coming from, had our name. The response from Fidelity explains that it is a way for the to Payee to confirm this account exist. To me this looks very suspicious, as the beginning of of some kind of scam where money from Fidelity is fraudulently being transferred to our Bank account.

Any thoughts?

I would definitely monitor your account daily for awhile. The transaction is likely a "prenote" which is used to verify that an account number is correct and active. It works just like microdeposits except that no action is needed by the user. If the account is not valid, the bank receiving the prenote will reject it. Not all banks show prenotes so that's good that TD does. I believe they could still manually reject it as invalid or unauthorized but whoever you are dealing with may not know how or why. The reason you need to monitor your account is that once the prenote is deemed valid, the originating bank (or Fidelity if that is who is behind this) can both push and pull. If that happens, Fidelity (through UMB Bank) bears the risk as the RDFI (receiving depository financial institution) if the ACH transfers are deemed fraudulent within the specified time--but it's still a hassle for you if it happens.

Keep us posted!

[celia]

So you are concerned the $ at Fido might get fraudulently transfere$ to your bank acct. So what is your specific concern? I realize it is concerning if $xxxx shoes up in your bank account but since you don’t have money at Fido I would not worry until it happens. You obviously made TD bank aware so I suspect they are doing 2hat they should be doing

I would be suspicious too if somebody confirmed the path to my back account worked when I hadn't initiated any link to it.

Just because it was tested by "Fidelity", that doesn't mean it was done by Fidelity Investments. It could be coming from "FidelityBank.", "Fedility.com", "FidelityInv.inv" or any other similar scam name.

I would ask TD Bank if they could block any new transfers in or out of my account other than those that are already set up. This will put them on notice.

You should probably talk to the branch manager or someone higher up.

[sport]

The Bank (TD Bank) is unable to get us any useful information about where it came from. Apparently Fidelity, or wherever it is coming from, had our name.

Why do you think it came from Fidelity?

[JBTX]

You can always put any fidelity account on lockdown. I always keep all mine locked, except for the cash account I move money in and out of.

[celia]

The response from Fidelity explains that it is a way for the to Payee to confirm this account exist.

Did the real Fidelity acknowledge that they tested the path? (Ask for the date to see if it matches your bank account.) Did you ask them why they did this?

[PinotGris]

So you are concerned the $ at Fido might get fraudulently transfere$ to your bank acct. So what is your specific concern? I realize it is concerning if $xxxx shoes up in your bank account but since you don’t have money at Fido I would not worry until it happens. You obviously made TD bank aware so I suspect they are doing 2hat they should be doing

The entity, if it is Fidelity, should have my routing and account number to make a transaction. Whoever made a credit transaction can also make a debit transaction and it can be for thousand. Fidelity does not have that information, we never gave them.

[PinotGris]

So you are concerned the $ at Fido might get fraudulently transfere$ to your bank acct. So what is your specific concern? I realize it is concerning if $xxxx shoes up in your bank account but since you don’t have money at Fido I would not worry until it happens. You obviously made TD bank aware so I suspect they are doing 2hat they should be doing

I would be suspicious too if somebody confirmed the path to my back account worked when I hadn't initiated any link to it.

Just because it was tested by "Fidelity", that doesn't mean it was done by Fidelity Investments. It could be coming from "FidelityBank.", "Fedility.com", "FidelityInv.inv" or any other similar scam name.

I would ask TD Bank if they could block any new transfers in or out of my account other than those that are already set up. This will put them on notice.

You should probably talk to the branch manager or someone higher up.

We have set up a meeting.

[PinotGris]

The response from Fidelity explains that it is a way for the to Payee to confirm this account exist.

Did the real Fidelity acknowledge that they tested the path? (Ask for the date to see if it matches your bank account.) Did you ask them why they did this?

TD bank, my bank, confirmed it came from Fidelity, or “Fidelity”. I have corrected the error in my OP.
I have not been able to speak to Fidelity.

[PinotGris]

You can always put any fidelity account on lockdown. I always keep all mine locked, except for the cash account I move money in and out of.

I have no Fidelity account at all! We have set up a meeting and i will see if TD, MY BANK, will freeze “Fidelity” from making any transaction, because we have not authorized it.

[PinotGris]

I have not experienced this, but I would not worry about it. I believe a fraudster would use a small, but reasonable, amount for a test transfer, say $83.99. I don't believe they would use zero, as that is bound to raise eyebrows and questions, which is the last thing they would want.

Why would “Fidelity” make any transaction in our account. We never gave them permission and we have no accounts in Fidelity.

[CenTexan]

following

[nisiprius]

Yes, IMHO it's suspicious enough to pursue. It's too reminiscent of the kind of scam where they say it's about your account at "Chase," playing the odds that a high percentage of the targets will, by chance, actually have accounts at Chase, and relax their guard.

I'm mildly curious to know the exact text of the depositor's name as it appeared on your statement, but given the situation you might be ultracautious and not want to post it. My curiosity is about how clear it is that the stated source really is "Fidelity Investments" and not some other "Fidelity."

"Fidelity" is not a rare corporate name, and I think anybody could set up a company and name it "Fidelity" without trademark infringement as long as they weren't in the investment managing business. Even within Fidelity's home state of Massachusetts there are dozens. None of these have Boston street addresses, although it's possible that some actually are connected to the Fidelity.

FIDELITY HOME HEALTH CARE, INC.
FIDELITY HOME MORTGAGE, INC.
FIDELITY HOMES OF NEW ENGLAND INC.
FIDELITY HOTEL RECOVERY SERVICES, INCORPORATED
FIDELITY HOUSE OF CAPE COD, INC.
FIDELITY IMPORT AND EXPORT, INC.
FIDELITY LAND CORP.
FIDELITY LEASING, INC.
FIDELITY LEATHER CO., INC.
FIDELITY POOL SERVICE, INC.
FIDELITY POST 1011 VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS OF THE U.S., INC.
FIDELITY PRESS, INC.
FIDELITY WELLNESS CENTER, INC.

The Fidelity Wellness Center turns out to be a cannabis dispensary, by the way.

[PinotGris]

Yes, IMHO it's suspicious enough to pursue. It's too reminiscent of the kind of scam where they say it's about your account at "Chase," playing the odds that a high percentage of the targets will, by chance, actually have accounts at Chase, and relax their guard.

I'm mildly curious to know the exact text of the depositor's name as it appeared on your statement, but given the situation you might be ultracautious and not want to post it. My curiosity is about how clear it is that the stated source really is "Fidelity Investments" and not some other "Fidelity."

"Fidelity" is not a rare corporate name, and I think anybody could set up a company and name it "Fidelity" without trademark infringement as long as they weren't in the investment managing business. Even within Fidelity's home state of Massachusetts there are dozens. None of these have Boston street addresses, although it's possible that some actually are connected to the Fidelity.

FIDELITY HOME HEALTH CARE, INC.
FIDELITY HOME MORTGAGE, INC.
FIDELITY HOMES OF NEW ENGLAND INC.
FIDELITY HOTEL RECOVERY SERVICES, INCORPORATED
FIDELITY HOUSE OF CAPE COD, INC.
FIDELITY IMPORT AND EXPORT, INC.
FIDELITY LAND CORP.
FIDELITY LEASING, INC.
FIDELITY LEATHER CO., INC.
FIDELITY POOL SERVICE, INC.
FIDELITY POST 1011 VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS OF THE U.S., INC.
FIDELITY PRESS, INC.
FIDELITY WELLNESS CENTER, INC.

The Fidelity Wellness Center turns out to be a cannabis dispensary, by the way.

Says "Fidelity Investmen"
looks like ran out of space.

[PoppyA]

It goes without saying that…change both passwords.

[RetiredAL]

I have not experienced this, but I would not worry about it. I believe a fraudster would use a small, but reasonable, amount for a test transfer, say $83.99. I don't believe they would use zero, as that is bound to raise eyebrows and questions, which is the last thing they would want.

Why would “Fidelity” make any transaction in our account. We never gave them permission and we have no accounts in Fidelity.

It could be as simple and innocent as someone with a Fidelity account having mis-typed their bank account number when trying to set up their own transfer links. That is part of what the validation process checks for.

IMO, don't go ballistically off on a tangent. You've already done the prudent thing of working with your bank. I suggest you now just sit back and stay calm.

[samsoes]

Close your TD account and open another. Yes, this is an inconvenience, but it's less of one than if you had to recover any funds withdrawn from it fraudulently.

[samsoes]

duplicate

[tfb]

Says "Fidelity Investmen"
looks like ran out of space.

The transfers to and from a bank account initiated by a Fidelity account showed as "FID BKG SVC LLC MONEYLINE." Others with a Fidelity account can confirm whether that's also the case for them.

[nisiprius]

...It could be as simple and innocent as someone with a Fidelity account having mis-typed their bank account number when trying to set up their own transfer links. That is part of what the validation process checks for...

The name on the account doesn't need to match?

[HomeStretch]

Says "Fidelity Investmen"
looks like ran out of space.

The transfers to and from a bank account initiated by a Fidelity account showed as "FID BKG SVC LLC MONEYLINE." Others with a Fidelity account can confirm whether that's also the case for them.

I can confirm that my ACH transfers pushed from a Fidelity CMA to my bank account show the same description.

[PinotGris]

Says "Fidelity Investmen"
looks like ran out of space.

The transfers to and from a bank account initiated by a Fidelity account showed as "FID BKG SVC LLC MONEYLINE." Others with a Fidelity account can confirm whether that's also the case for them.

I can confirm that my ACH transfers pushed from a Fidelity CMA to my bank account show the same description.

Wow, that is a revelation. It appears on my statement as "Fidelity Investmen Fidelity." Obviously Fidelity is not trying to give me money.
UPDATE: Bank can do nothing. Anyone with my bank routing number and account number can transact with my Bank. I can call it fraud in which case they will close my account and open a new one, which would be such a nuisance. My bank routing and account number could be anywhere if I have ever given it out, and could have been obtained. Of course i have given them multiple times for all the ACH transactions taking place in our account right now like Medicare, Insurance etc.
I just started transfering money to our grandsons in ZELLE a few months ago. I don't know if that triggered it. I have never thought of keeping a list of places I have given the routing/account numbers.
Bank says call Fidelity. Well, Fidelity does not answer the phone, you can wait all day long.

[rbd789]

Says "Fidelity Investmen"
looks like ran out of space.

The transfers to and from a bank account initiated by a Fidelity account showed as "FID BKG SVC LLC MONEYLINE." Others with a Fidelity account can confirm whether that's also the case for them.

I can confirm that my ACH transfers pushed from a Fidelity CMA to my bank account show the same description.

Wow, that is a revelation. It appears on my statement as "Fidelity Investmen Fidelity." Obviously Fidelity is not trying to give me money.
UPDATE: Bank can do nothing. Anyone with my bank routing number and account number can transact with my Bank. I can call it fraud in which case they will close my account and open a new one, which would be such a nuisance. My bank routing and account number could be anywhere if I have ever given it out, and could have been obtained. Of course i have given them multiple times for all the ACH transactions taking place in our account right now like Medicare, Insurance etc.
I just started transfering money to our grandsons in ZELLE a few months ago. I don't know if that triggered it. I have never thought of keeping a list of places I have given the routing/account numbers.
Bank says call Fidelity. Well, Fidelity does not answer the phone, you can wait all day long.

With the misspelled company description, it's clear you are not dealing with Fidelity, so calling them would be pointless. I see two possible courses of action. (1) Close the account and move to a new one, yes, updating all your valid ach links is a pain. (2) Do nothing but keep an eye on the account, then deal with the bank to be made whole if a fraudulent debit shows up; keep a record, written if possible, of any relevant conversations you've had with the bank, to back up a future claim that you gave them a heads up. Given what we know of the situation now, I'd choose (1) myself.

[RetiredAL]

Says "Fidelity Investmen"
looks like ran out of space.

The transfers to and from a bank account initiated by a Fidelity account showed as "FID BKG SVC LLC MONEYLINE." Others with a Fidelity account can confirm whether that's also the case for them.

I can confirm that my ACH transfers pushed from a Fidelity CMA to my bank account show the same description.

Wow, that is a revelation. It appears on my statement as "Fidelity Investmen Fidelity." Obviously Fidelity is not trying to give me money.
UPDATE: Bank can do nothing. Anyone with my bank routing number and account number can transact with my Bank. I can call it fraud in which case they will close my account and open a new one, which would be such a nuisance. My bank routing and account number could be anywhere if I have ever given it out, and could have been obtained. Of course i have given them multiple times for all the ACH transactions taking place in our account right now like Medicare, Insurance etc.
I just started transfering money to our grandsons in ZELLE a few months ago. I don't know if that triggered it. I have never thought of keeping a list of places I have given the routing/account numbers.
Bank says call Fidelity. Well, Fidelity does not answer the phone, you can wait all day long.

Also every check you've written has your bank's routing number and your account number on it.

[PinotGris]

I finally saw something on the Fidelity web site that directed me to a Reddit discussion on Fidelity for questions since they cannot bother talking to me. This site redirected me to the Reddit "Megathread" subedit about money movements in Fidelity. Full of complaints, all within recent few weeks. Apparently the CMA is not working, they can get no answers, cash payments have been restricted, even checking your own account is being questioned.
https://www.reddit.com/r/fidelityinvest ... ons_about/
Any Boglehead can commiserate with the problems discussed over on Reddit? I feel this incident with my Bank may have some connection .

[Longdog]

Also every check you've written has your bank's routing number and your account number on it.

And probably your name and address.

[PinotGris]

Also every check you've written has your bank's routing number and your account number on it.

Absolutely, this is correct.

[Stinky]

You say you had an account with Fidelity that was closed 10-12 years ago.

At that time, did you have your account with TD Bank?

And, if so, did Fidelity ever have your TD Bank account information?

[rkhusky]

I finally saw something on the Fidelity web site that directed me to a Reddit discussion on Fidelity for questions since they cannot bother talking to me. This site redirected me to the Reddit "Megathread" subedit about money movements in Fidelity. Full of complaints, all within recent few weeks. Apparently the CMA is not working, they can get no answers, cash payments have been restricted, even checking your own account is being questioned.
https://www.reddit.com/r/fidelityinvest ... ons_about/
Any Boglehead can commiserate with the problems discussed over on Reddit? I feel this incident with my Bank may have some connection .

There is a thread about Fidelity CMA problems, which is probably swamping their customer service:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=439500&newpost=8059078

If there are any unauthorized withdrawals from your bank account, the bank should make you whole. Just having the routing and account numbers should not give anyone the authority to withdraw from your account. If the bank allows that, they should be held liable.

[PinotGris]

I finally saw something on the Fidelity web site that directed me to a Reddit discussion on Fidelity for questions since they cannot bother talking to me. This site redirected me to the Reddit "Megathread" subedit about money movements in Fidelity. Full of complaints, all within recent few weeks. Apparently the CMA is not working, they can get no answers, cash payments have been restricted, even checking your own account is being questioned.
https://www.reddit.com/r/fidelityinvest ... ons_about/
Any Boglehead can commiserate with the problems discussed over on Reddit? I feel this incident with my Bank may have some connection .

There is a thread about Fidelity CMA problems, which is probably swamping their customer service:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=439500&newpost=8059078

If there are any unauthorized withdrawals from your bank account, the bank should make you whole. Just having the routing and account numbers should not give anyone the authority to withdraw from your account. If the bank allows that, they should be held liable.

I might have mis stated. The ACH withdrawals can only be made by a corporations, not by individuals. as my Bank explained.

[LotsaGray]

So you are concerned the $ at Fido might get fraudulently transfere$ to your bank acct. So what is your specific concern? I realize it is concerning if $xxxx shoes up in your bank account but since you don’t have money at Fido I would not worry until it happens. You obviously made TD bank aware so I suspect they are doing 2hat they should be doing

The entity, if it is Fidelity, should have my routing and account number to make a transaction. Whoever made a credit transaction can also make a debit transaction and it can be for thousand. Fidelity does not have that information, we never gave them.

Sorry no. Your bank routing number and acct number alone are not enough to withdraw money. Neither of those numbers are or ever were intended to be secret. Every check you ever wrote displays those. Every person who touched those checks could have copied those. They could not then empty your accountant.

As TD appears to have told you it is not likely fraud but if you want a new account and the associated hassle.

[HomeStretch]

For the money at your bank, can you minimize the checking account balance subject to fraud by keeping the bulk of the $ in a savings account at the bank? Transfer funds from savings to checking only as needed to fund a bill pay or Zelle. It’s more work to do the online transfers but you can at least reduce any potential fraud impact while you keep an eye out for unauthorized transactions in the near term.

[PinotGris]

For the money at your bank, can you minimize the checking account balance subject to fraud by keeping the bulk of the $ in a savings account at the bank? Transfer funds from savings to checking only as needed to fund a bill pay or Zelle. It’s more work to do the online transfers but you can at least reduce any potential fraud impact while you keep an eye out for unauthorized transactions in the near term.

From this experience we have decided to keep our cash needs split between the checking account and Vanguard settlement account, the larger pat in VG. I can move cash from Vanguard to my bank within 2 days. Most of our bills are on ACH and the rest we pay by check. We stopped Bill Pay after a bad experience. I do use Zelle to send money to our grandchildren, and I hope it stays safe.

[lstone19]

Says "Fidelity Investmen"
looks like ran out of space.

The transfers to and from a bank account initiated by a Fidelity account showed as "FID BKG SVC LLC MONEYLINE." Others with a Fidelity account can confirm whether that's also the case for them.

I see the same (FID BKG SVC LLC MONEYLINE) pushing to three different banks or credit unions (with Bank of America, the MONEYLINE part shows up as a separate field labeled DES; on the statement, BofA shows more details of the data that accompanies an ACH than some others do). I've never see "Fidelity Investments" or anything remotely similar on an ACH push from Fidelity.

[PinotGris]

Says "Fidelity Investmen"
looks like ran out of space.

The transfers to and from a bank account initiated by a Fidelity account showed as "FID BKG SVC LLC MONEYLINE." Others with a Fidelity account can confirm whether that's also the case for them.

I see the same (FID BKG SVC LLC MONEYLINE) pushing to three different banks or credit unions (with Bank of America, the MONEYLINE part shows up as a separate field labeled DES; on the statement, BofA shows more details of the data that accompanies an ACH than some others do). I've never see "Fidelity Investments" or anything remotely similar on an ACH push from Fidelity.

Fidelity must use a service called Moneyline to make a deposit to your bank. Just as Banks use Fiserv to perform Bill Pay service for its customers. It looks like Fidelity did its own credit check to see if our account is active for some reason. It seems as customers we have only a limited control over our accounts, even if we fancy otherwise. We just updated our signatured cards as per FDIC requirements, if that is any comfort in case of real fraud.