Wells Fargo worker accused of stealing customers' data

A Wells Fargo employee working from a Shoreview call center stole customers' information and sold the data to a stranger, resulting in the loss of more than $10,000, according to charges.

Cierra R. McCain, 22, of St. Paul, was charged Tuesday in Ramsey County District Court with one count of identity theft.

"McCain provided a recorded telephonic statement to this investigator, and admitted that she had provided customer data to 'a complete stranger' for a small consideration and that she knew what she was doing violated company policy and was against the law," the complaint said.

McCain allegedly obtained information for 12 accounts. Fraudulent activity was found in 10 of those accounts, amounting to a loss of $10,491.04.

According to the complaint:

A Wells Fargo Bank investigator contacted the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office last August about McCain's alleged activity. By that point, she was no longer working at the call center.

McCain began working at the call center in September 2012, and she was responsible for servicing customer credit card accounts over the phone.

An internal bank investigation showed that between June and August 2014, she obtained customers' Social Security numbers and the three-digit security code from a dozen credit card accounts.

McCain allegedly admitted that she was befriended by a stranger on Facebook and that she sold the person the information she had obtained. That information included names, birth dates, credit card numbers and security codes, among other data.

The investigation revealed that the person who had befriended McCain was a man from Illinois who apparently used a woman's photo to create the Facebook account.

That woman was not involved in the fraud, the complaint said.

The charge against McCain did not specify how much money she received in exchange for the information.

Chao Xiong • 612-270-4708

Twitter: @ChaoStrib