Consumer complaint received 2017-12-15
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: CA
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Mobile or digital wallet
Issue: Unauthorized transactions or other transaction problem

Complaint:
A fraudulent transfer on XXXX XXXX, XXXX was made from our joint savings account to a man named XXXX XXXX for {$2400.00} through XXXX. I think it goes without saying that we do not know this man. We noticed this charge on XXXX XXXX, XXXX and attempted to take swift action by calling Bank of America to file a claim but were unable to at that time due to office closure on weekends. In a second attempt to contact anyone who may have additional knowledge on addressing our issue, we also went to the Bank of America located in downtown XXXX XXXX to consult with an employee. This inept employee could only provide a phone number for us to call, which we later learned was a wrong number. 
On Monday, XXXX XXXX, XXXX at roughly XXXX XXXX, my husband checked our savings account to reference it as he prepared to call Bank of America to file the claim. To his shock he saw that a second fraudulent transfer was made. This time the transfer was made to a XXXX XXXX for {$2400.00}, again through XXXX and to an individual whom we do not know. The Bank of America associate assisted my husband with filing a claim to report the two fraudulent transfers and in response, he placed a hold for {$880000.00} on the account. He explained that it may take up to 10 days to investigate the claim but provided vague details regarding next steps. 
On XXXX XXXX, my husband called Bank of America to follow up on our claim. The Bank of America associate explained that they investigated the claim and found that there was no indication that it was a fraudulent transfer because the transfer was made on the same device. This argument is weak to assume that fraud can only occur if using different devices. He was speechless to learn that they would not be able to get our money back because they deemed the transfers legitimate. I am concerned that this issue is not being handled correctly and no protections are in place when making large, by our standards, transfers. While we have asked to have Bank of America look at our claim again, the associate has advised us to take legal action. I understand that this is his job to explain alternatives, but for individuals who are trying to get their money back, unfortunately we do not have discretionary funds to afford a lawyer. While this amount may seem low in comparison to the billions of dollars being shuffled through the bank system, this {$4900.00} is important for us to have for a rainy day and clearly, is it flat out wrong to steal from people! In addition to trying to get our money back, I am concerned about the integrity of the Bank of America online platform and its ability to detect identity theft. I demand action from Bank of America and the agencies that are meant to protect consumers. 

We have filed a report with the XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, and XXXX XXXX Police Departments and waiting to hear from them. I am at a loss as to what other steps we need to take to recuperate our stolen money, so I urge you to hear us out and help us with this matter as soon as possible.

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