Consumer complaint received 2022-09-13
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: GA
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Problem with a lender or other company charging your account
Sub-issue: Transaction was not authorized

Complaint:
XX/XX/XXXX CFPB Investigative Unit RE XXXX XXXX identity theft, and subsequent fraudulent transactions against Bank of America ( BOA ) checking account # XXXX. 

CFPB Investigator, In the early morning hours of Saturday, XX/XX/XXXX, I was the victim of theft ( including my identity ) and eventually suffered monetary harm of at least {$14000.00} with BOA ( i.e., my wallet and cellphone were stolen1, and my social security number [ SS # ] 2 and BOA checking account ending in XXXX were comprised ). Please see the attachment Police Report - Incident # XXXX w supp. & BOA account snapshots ( pics 1-4 ) for reference.

Specifically, after I was randomly assaulted ( by a suspected conspirator of the fraudsters ) in a parking lot after leaving a local bar, two observing females ( the Suspects ) offered to give me a ride back to my condo, given they had just witnessed me get sucker punched. Upon arrival, the Suspects offered to walk me to my floor to ensure I was ok. When we arrived at my door, I invited the Suspects inside for a glass of wine, to which they obliged. I went to bed after watching some TV w/ the Suspects. 

The following morning, I noticed my XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX ) and wallet, including my BOA debit card, were missing ( amongst other items in my wallet ), so I tried to log in to my BOA online account on my desktop but was unable to access my online account since I had changed the password ( PW ) on my BOA application via my XXXX but had not yet updated the PW on my desktop. Accordingly, I went to a local sports bar hoping to borrow a friends cellphone to contact BOA and notify them of the theft and suspected fraud. After several attempts, I connected with BOAs fraud department on the afternoon of XX/XX/XXXX, where they confirmed unauthorized transactions and purportedly froze the debit card and account. 

However, it appears that the Suspects were able to unlock my account by contacting BOA ( after I froze my card and account ) since they had my SS # and called BOA from my registered device ( my XXXX ), which the BOA system recognized3 ( I can provide screenshots of the Suspects outbound calls from my XXXX if needed, which was discovered after restoring from my XXXX XXXX 

In sum, on XX/XX/XXXX, I filed the first fraud claim ( BOA claim # XXXX ) for {$6900.00}. However, due to the Suspects ability to unlock my BOA account, the fraud continued into Sunday, XX/XX/XXXX, until I called BOA again ( Sunday night ) to freeze my account and debit card. On Monday, XX/XX/XXXX, I filed a second fraud claim ( BOA claim # XXXX ) for {$7500.00} ( for the second round of fraud ). That said, BOA did refund me {$5800.00} ( on or about XX/XX/XXXX ) for the claim ending in XXXX ; however, that claims total amount is {$7500.00} ( i.e., theres a delta of ~ {$1700.00}, which Im still owed on that claim ). For the avoidance of doubt, BOA has summarily denied the claim ending in XXXX in its entirety ( i.e., no monies were refunded ). See denial snapshot attached. 

Pursuant to the Electronic Fund Act ( EFTA ), a cardholder is only responsible for up to {$50.00} in unauthorized transactions if he/she reports a loss or theft within 2 business days. Here, I reported the theft ( to BOA and XXXX authorities ) within ~12 hours. Moreover, these transactions were fraudulent ( i.e., without my consent ). Accordingly, BOA should credit my account for the remaining {$8600.00} in accordance ( and compliance ) with federal law. To date, BOAs Fraud Department has not contacted me regarding either fraud claim to investigate or to otherwise collect information, obtain statements, research, etc. 

As an aside, BOA has credited {$7600.00} to my checking account ending in XXXX ( BOA fraud claim # XXXX ). In the interest of transparency, this should not have been credited, as I was able to contact BOA and freeze that account ( and transfer monies therein to another account ending in XXXX ) before fraudulent XXXX transfers could go through. In other words, this claim ( ending in XXXX ) should be closed out ( money removed from my account ) as I dodged a bullet. 

Regards, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. ( BOA account holder ) XXXX XXXX ________________________________________________ 1 Please see Replacement XXXX receipt enclosed 2 Please see Turbo Tax SS number compromised snapshot which is included as an attachment ( i.e., the Suspects were able to access XXXX XXXX from my XXXX and gain access to my SS # ; the snapshot was discovered in my photos when I backed up my phone from my XXXX the following Monday, XX/XX/XXXX ). 
XXXX I believe the Suspects gained access to my XXXX ( to approve their suspicious transactions, for example ) since my XXXX controls my TV remote, and they requested to use ( i.e., access ) the remoteXXXX  in the early morning hours of XX/XX/XXXX. As for the XXXX transfers, I suspect the fraudsters may have used my face to access my banking app. while I was sleeping, though thats conjecture.

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 monetary relief