Consumer complaint received 2021-06-27
Company: CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: CO
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Savings account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Problem accessing account

Complaint:
My complaint is about both Capital One banking and credit cards. I had XXXX credit cards, both of which were paid in full each, and XXXX savings accounts, one for myself and one for each of my XXXX XXXX. I am a victim of identity theft and someone has been trying to use my personal information to open accounts. 
On XXXX I received an email from Capital One that my username had been recovered. I called right away and was told they had no record of it and I was assured that it was nothing to worry about because no one could access my accounts without a password. I changed my username and password. 
On XXXX I received another email that my username had been recovered, I called again and was told the same thing as my previous call. I changed my username and password again and created new email to use for Capital One. 
On XXXX I received a large number of emails from Capital One over a period of less than XXXX minutes : your username was recovered, your password was reset, new device used to sign in, we've updated your phone number and we've updated your email address. I called Capital One right away and once again was given no explanation how this happened. Capital One representative corrected my phone number and email address, locked both of my credit cards and arranged for new cards to be sent, then blocked online access. They also set up XXXX step verification to confirm that they were speaking to me when someone called about my account. 
On XXXX I received an email about unusual activity on one of my XXXX XXXX  accounts, this came to original email I had used prior to XXXX, nothing was sent to my new email. Called Capital One but could get no information because of bank holiday. XXXX step identity verification not requested to confirm who was calling. Through the conversation with the representative I found out that XXXX calls had been made about my account on XXXX, these calls were not made by me and the representative could not give me any information about them. 
On XXXX I called again and found out that new accounts had been linked to my savings accounts and transfers set up to move money out, email address and phone number on my accounts was not mine, rep said she would remove fraudulent accounts. 
I requested that all XXXX savings accounts be closed and my money be transferred to my checking account at a different bank. Again XXXX step identity verification had not been asked for. 
On XXXX I received the new credit cards, I received XXXX cards for XXXX accounts. I called Capital One and found that one of the cards was for a fraudulent additional user that had been set up on my account. Once I regained online access I found that my email address and phone had not been corrected and there were additional accounts still linked to my accounts. Again additional verification of identity was not asked for. 
On XXXX I got another email saying my username had been recovered, I called yet again and was told that if someone else had my ss # number, date of birth and name that there was no way they could be prevented from accessing my accounts! I had had enough at that point and closed both of the credit card accounts. 
Bottom line is that Capital One is not verifying who is accessing accounts, you simply click the forgot username or password link then enter the information to recover the username and reset the password. There is no text or email sent to confirm the identity of the person trying to access the account. Not being able to keep these accounts open has done significant damage to my credit and because of the identity theft I am not able to open any new accounts at this time.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation