July 02, 2025

Warren, Waters, Blumenthal Seek Answers from Big Bank Owners of Zelle on Social Media Scams Hurting Millions of Americans

Letter follows JP Morgan Chase decision to suspend all Zelle transactions originating on social media 

Warren 2022 investigation uncovered major fraud on Zelle platform

Text of Letter to Banks that Own Zelle (PDF) | Text of Separate Letter to JP Morgan (PDF)

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, and Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Ranking Member of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations called on the big banks that own Zelle to provide answers about what they are doing to track and stop the proliferation of social media scams that hurt millions of Americans on peer-to-peer (P2P) payment platforms. Their letter follows JP Morgan Chase’s decision to block Zelle payments originating from social media. The lawmakers wrote to Wells Fargo, US Bank, Truist, PNC, Bank of America, Capital One, and sent a separate letter to JP Morgan Chase. 

“Zelle is a P2P payment platform associated with significant scams and fraud … CFPB’s lawsuit alleged that Zelle and its owners did not equip the platform with appropriate safeguards against fraud and systematically denied relief to consumers who were the victims of fraud, leading to more than $870 million in losses for hundreds of thousands of consumers,” the lawmakers wrote.

The lawmakers continued: “JPMorgan Chase’s decision to block Zelle transactions originating on social media comes as transaction volumes on the platform are exploding. And as JPMorgan Chase confirmed: a bulk of those scams are starting on social media. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has said the same: ‘more money was reported lost to fraud originating on social media than by any other method of contact.’”

“JPMorgan Chase’s decision also comes as the Trump Administration dismantles federal efforts to protect consumers from P2P scams and fraud. In March, the Trump Administration dropped the CFPB’s 2024 lawsuit, leaving harmed consumers without a federal watchdog in their corner as scams continue to proliferate on the Zelle platform.” wrote the lawmakers. 

The lawmakers requested detailed answers from the bank, including the percentage of Zelle scams reported to them originating from social media platforms, copies of recent policies and procedures regarding consumer reimbursement when fraud is reported, and additional steps each bank is taking to protect consumers from scams originating on social media, by July 16, 2025.

Today’s letters build on Senator Warren’s leadership on the issue of scams affecting Americans on P2P payment platforms, including an investigation by her office in 2022 that uncovered rampant fraud on Zelle.

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