Wells Fargo Fires Over a Dozen for 'Simulation of Keyboard Activity'

Wells Fargo & Co. fired more than a dozen employees last month after investigating claims that they were faking work.

The staffers, all in the firm’s wealth- and investment-management unit, were “discharged after review of allegations involving simulation of keyboard activity creating impression of active work,” according to disclosures filed with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

“Wells Fargo holds employees to the highest standards and does not tolerate unethical behavior,” a company spokesperson said in a statement.

Devices and software to imitate employee activity, sometimes known as “mouse movers” or “mouse jigglers,” took off during the pandemic-spurred work-from-home era, with people swapping tips for using them on social-media sites Reddit and TikTok. Such gadgets are available on Amazon.com for less than $20.

It’s unclear from the Finra disclosures whether the employees Wells Fargo fired were allegedly faking active work from home.

The finance industry was among the most aggressive in ordering workers back to the office as the pandemic waned, though Wells Fargo waited longer than rivals JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.