Consumer complaint received 2023-09-18
Company: TRUIST FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: NY
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Domestic (US) money transfer
Issue: Fraud or scam

Complaint:
Dear CFPB, Here is the email letter I sent to Truist Bank Fraud Dept on XX/XX/XXXX regarding the a ) fraud claim I filed with them on XX/XX/XXXX and b ) that the only reason the fraud transfer happened is because they failed to freeze my account earlier that day as requested. 
This is all related to Truist Bank XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  Dear Truist Fraud, On XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX I called Truist Customer Service to report a possible scam. I spoke to an agent for 39 minutes and was assured that the bank was freezing my account with special attention to XXXX. 

As it turns out I was indeed the victim of a scam later that day. However, I was not worried because I was assured that my Truist account had been frozen and therefore, any XXXX transferred would not be paid. Later that evening at about XXXX, when I discovered that in fact XXXX XXXX XXXX HAD been paid out of my account I was understandably upset, called Truist immediately and spoke to a rep in the fraud Dept for over an hour. 

She explained I had to file a claim and that my account would be frozen for XXXX months while it was investigated. She promised to send out the forms that day ( by now it was XX/XX/XXXX ) and I had to return them in 10 business days. I received the forms on XX/XX/XXXX ( XXXXwo days ago ), completed them, got them notarized and sent them via XXXX today, XX/XX/XXXX due to be delivered Sat XX/XX/XXXX. 

When I got home I found a letter from Truist dated XX/XX/XXXX saying my claim had been investigated and denied. I called the number listed immediately assuming this must be an error but no, he said it was accurate. What?? That is totally unethical. And probably illegal. After a lengthy conversation I asked to speak to a manager. I was put on hold for some time and then they just hung up on me.

Note that, on this call, and the many other calls I have had with Truist Fraud Dept I explained that the primary issue is that Truist failed to freeze my account as requested PRIOR to any fraudulent transactions and that was why the money was taken from my account. At no point has anyone offered an apology or taken any responsibility for this error on your part. Finally, today in frustration, I asked to file a complaint against the bank. That was when they hung up on me. 

I have tried to be reasonable but according to the NY Police Dept, where I filed a case and the FBI and also the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the bank must repay this money even if I hadnt requested that my account be frozen before the fraud payment even came in to Truist ( but, as we know, I had requested my account be frozen ). Please check the recordings you make of every call if you have any doubts. 

Here is an article related to XXXX scams. 
Please note this relevant section from the article : When banks say no, its typically because they say the transactions were actually approved by the account holders. 
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau clarified its position on banks required compliance with the Electronic Fund Transfer Act of 1978 last year. The CFPB says that if a third party fraudulently induces a consumer into sharing account access information, that consumer should receive the same protections as if the money were acquired from a stolen debit card or other banking access device. 

If your bank refuses to reimburse you for a XXXX scam, you should quickly report it to local law enforcement and file a complaint with the CFPB. 

You can view the recent report to Congress at these links : Report : How consumers defrauded on XXXX are left high and dry New Report by Senator XXXX : XXXX Facilitating Fraud, Based on Internal Data from Big Banks As I said to the agent when I called the Fraud line listed in this letter ( just below ), I have been attempting to get relief on this issue for over a week. 

As part of my documentation I am attaching some screen shots documenting the calls I made to Truist, the police report, and one screenshot that shows the name of one of the scammers ( tho it it probably is not real ). 

Please respond confirming you received this email and documentation and confirm whether you are a ) going to actually investigate the notarized claim I sent via XXXX today ( due to arrive XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX And b ) will you be replacing the {$1900.00} that was removed from my account because Truist did NOT freeze my account and XXXX per my explicit request. 

If not I will be forced to pursue this via the CFBP, the FBI and the XXXX 

Thank you, XXXX XXXX XXXX Documentation : 1 ) Police report 2 ) The XXXX payments that went thru my account AFTER I alerted Truist and requested my account be frozen 3 & 5 ) call log for both calls to Truist, XX/XX/XXXX XXXX ) screen shot of the scammers attempt to get XXXX from my XXXX account which did not work because my XXXX Bank had already frozen my accounts and credit card. Attached because it shows a name ( which may be fraudulent.

6 ) the letter I received today from Truist saying that my claim had been closed on XX/XX/XXXX - well before I even filed the claim today. 

- Dear CFPB : Your form box isnt allowing me to include the attachments I sent ( all photos or screenshots ). If you need them and send an address or link where I can attach photos I will gladly send them. 

For your information this was a scam where they posed as XXXX XXXX XXXX saying that an account had been set up in my name and now XXXX transferee were being initiated to other banks and XXXX XXXX in my name. When I received the call initially at about XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX I hung up to research this myself. The Customer Service number on the XXXX website was the same number I had been called on as recorded by my cell phone. However, I could never get through to XXXX because you must already be a customer to get past the first firewall. 

Because I was worried I contacted both my banks ( XXXX XXXX  XXXX where I now live and Truist in Florida ( my branch is in XXXX ) where I lived a few years ago. All in all the scammers tried to get XXXX payments 8 times ( over XXXX XXXX ). XXXX were with XXXX and 2 with Truist. XXXX caught 5 of the 6 and the one that slipped through they immediately replaced no questions asked. However Truist allowed both XXXX transfers to be paid ( one for {$990.00} and off for {$990.00} ) and have never taken any responsibility tho I have spoke to at least a dozen representatives. I even tried calling the corporate headquarters but could not get thru. 

BTW, I few XXXX should take responsibility as well all this. I would say I have spent 3+ hours over several days trying to find a way to speak to a human or even be able to file a complaint about the fact that I had no way of finding out if this was a scam or not. This is a somewhat well known scam that has been running for a year at least. They need to put a warning on their website and also allow non customers a way in to check about scams. I really did try to do my part - due diligence. But, because the scammers were able to make the XXXX phone number show up on my phone ( I didnt even know this was possible ), I was unsure if this was a scam or not. Normally I hang up immediately and then am able to check it out online. But not in this case. Im sure thats why the scammers are using BoA. 

Thank you for you attention and assistance,

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation