'They're just protecting themselves': Houston couple fights — and wins — battle with Wells Fargo over $40,000 in fraudulent transactions. Here's how you can shield your online accounts

Suspicious transactions

Jose and his wife, Amanda, who together own a Houston-area company called Grindstone General Contracting, contacted police to open a criminal investigation, according to Fox 26.

The couple says authorities sent subpoenas to a bank in Alabama where the direct pay account was located and to Wells Fargo. They also sent affidavits to their bank detailing the fraud.

A few days later, the couple says they were notified by Wells Fargo the bank's investigation determined there was no fraud. Both were left bewildered and unable to comprehend why the bank would allow a second transaction after being warned about the first one.

"They're not hearing us out and they're not trying to understand," Amanda, exasperated, told Fox 26. "They're just protecting themselves."

Even with police involved, according to the local broadcaster, it was up to Wells Fargo to determine the fate of the money. But in a follow-up report published March 13, we learned the bank decided to return $40,000 to their business account.

The couple credits the media attention with facilitating the happy conclusion.

"Because of people like you we are able to have a voice and a little bit of justice," Jose said.

Fox 26 shared the following statement from Wells Fargo: "We take pride in serving small business owners and sincerely apologize to Mr. and Mrs. Vasquez for their experience. After completing a thorough additional review of this complex fraud case we are making our customer whole."

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How to keep your money safe

Not everyone is going to be able to get a media outlet to help them get their money back when they suspect they're the victim of fraud, so it's important for everyone to take steps to try to protect themselves and respond to suspicious activity if it happens to you.

One of the best ways you can keep your online accounts safe, according to the Federal Trade Commission, is to use a strong password. These are usually 16 characters or longer, have upper- and lower-case letters, and may include numbers and symbols. They're meant to be difficult to guess, which helps to ensure no one unauthorized accesses your accounts.

Setting up two-factor authentication is another security step you should take. This adds an extra layer of security by requiring you to input a code on top of your login credentials to access an account. Most platforms will offer to send you this code via email or text message, but the most secure method is to use an authentication application on your smart phone.

You should also keep your device's security software and browser software up-to-date to protect against vulnerabilities, encrypt your WiFi network to prevent unauthorized access, as it's the gateway to your devices, and lock both your computer and phone screens when not being used. The more difficult you can make it for criminals to access your account, the less likely there are to be problems.

Signing up for alerts so you're notified of unusual account activity is also a good idea in case someone does access your account.

If you do suspect or get alerted to fraudulent transactions, you should report them immediately. Once you provide notice to a bank or credit union about an authorized transaction, it generally has 10 business days to conduct an investigation and three business days to report its findings, per the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The bank also must correct errors within a business day of determining they have occurred.

Of course, the Vasquez family says they reported the transactions right away and still they were victimized. It can be difficult to prove your case in a digital world. But if you follow the tips above you should be able to limit your exposure to bad actors.