Consumer complaint received 2022-11-01
Company: TD BANK US HOLDING COMPANY
State: NJ
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Domestic (US) money transfer
Issue: Fraud or scam

Complaint:
On XX/XX/2022, I was the victim of fraud. I had an item for sale on XXXX XXXX for {$300.00} and received an interested buyer. The man offered to pay me on XXXX and pick-up the item the following day. I never used XXXX before, but he told me it's already linked with my bank ( which I saw on my bank app. ) So, I gave him my email to send the money to. I then received an email that looked like it came from XXXX, stating that my account was restricted due to an account limit. It said that the buyer had to send me an additional {$500.00} in order for me to upgrade my account to " premium. '' I thought this was strange, but " XXXX '' told me that this happens with new users on XXXX, and he would send me the {$500.00} to upgrade my account, if he had my trust to pay him right back. I thought this was a real, honest person so I told him I would absolutely pay him right back. I then got another email that I thought was from XXXX, stating that the {$800.00} was now in my account and I had to transfer the {$500.00} that the person " paid '' me to a XXXX agent, so the money could be returned to " XXXX. '' So I did it, I sent {$500.00} to who I thought was a XXXX representative. This of course was the scam, as " XXXX '' didn't actually pay me anything. I then got another email that I had to pay a {$1000.00} proof of funds fee to receive my original payment today. I was able to cancel that transaction before it went through, because I luckily sent it to the wrong email and immediately reversed it. At this point I'm getting very frustrated, as I just wanted to sell my XXXX XXXX item. I finally called XXXX and they informed me I was the victim of a scam, and that of course XXXX had no responsibility to reimburse me for my loses. I immediately called my bank ( TD ) and informed them of what happened. They told me to call them once the transaction of {$500.00} was no longer pending, because there wasn't anything they could do to dispute a pending change. I'm not sure why they couldn't just cancel it, since it was pending. Anyway, I called them the next day once the charge was no longer pending. They took my summary of what happened, and said they'd conduct an investigation and I'd receive a letter in the mail in 7-10 business days with the results. I got the letter which denied the dispute because I intentionally sent the {$500.00}, and their investigation was concluded. I called my bank to try and argue this, as I sent the money to someone impersonating a reputable financial institution. They said they'd file the dispute again, and I'd receive a notice in 7-10 business days. It's been over 10 business days and I've received nothing. This is my first time being a victim of this type of fraud and I feel I should be reimbursed the {$500.00} I lost. The bank could have cancelled the pending transaction before it even went through. The bank could have tried to get the money back from the account it was sent to. This is a XXXX XXXX corporation, and I'm just a lower middle class person trying to pay rent and make extra money on XXXX XXXX. That {$500.00} is a big deal to me. I've been a loyal customer with TD Bank since I was a teenager. Shouldn't my money be under some type of insurance protection from this type of fraud? I just want what's rightfully mine.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation