Consumer complaint received 2023-02-19
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.
State: TX
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Mobile or digital wallet
Issue: Fraud or scam

Complaint:
Timeline : XX/XX/XXXX : I received notifications that I received XXXX payments from an individual I personally knew. These payments were : {$1.00}, {$990.00}, and {$800.00}. I contacted the individual to inquire about why these funds were sent to me and she responded saying that she did not make these payments and that she was actually on the phone with a supposed Chase representative who called her regarding fraudulent activity being detected on her account. I was told that the representative had asked if I could be added to the call to figure out what had occurred and why and how these funds ended up in my possession. During the call, the supposed representative told us that they were able to recover her account and that I would be able to send these funds back to her. I had no plans on keeping these funds as they belonged to her to begin with, so I made XXXX payments of {$1000.00} and {$800.00} back to her phone number and contact name per usual. However, upon doing so we realized that none of these payments made it back to her account. I initially received and made a XXXX payment back to her of {$1000.00}, and later received another {$800.00}. During this time, the Chase customer service phone number called me and it was the same supposed representative telling me it was safe to send the rest of her funds back to her. Thus I sent the rest of the funds back to her phone number. Moments later, the individual contacted me telling me that she was just on the phone with a Chase representative on her fathers phone who told her that no one from Chase made a call to her, and that it seemed like it was a fraud. She was told to file a report to the fraud department the following morning. 

XX/XX/XXXX : I woke up and logged into my online banking profile to check whether my own money and bank account was fine and saw that her money was still in my account and it seemed like the payments were not able to go through. I contacted her to notify her of this news, and she said that she would call the bank to inform them of this. After doing so, we were relieved that the money seemed like it was fine and she was told her case would be closed. 

XX/XX/XXXX : The following morning I woke up to check my online banking profile to make sure her money was still safe in my account and found that the funds were now no longer in my account and the payments were all successfully processed. I notified her of this, and she said she would once again contact the bank to inform them of this. I was told that another claim was opened for it. 

XX/XX/XXXX : I woke up and checked my online banking profile to check if my own money and profile was safe and found that I was debited {$1.00}, {$990.00}, and {$800.00} by the financial institution in a reversal claim leaving me with a negative balance. I was shocked and did not understand why funds that were no longer in my account were being taken from me. I contacted the bank to inquire about this, and was told that they would open a claim in regards to the {$1000.00} and {$800.00} I sent out to the individuals phone number in an attempt to return her funds. I was told that since these funds never reached her account, despite her phone number being correct, that I was eligible for reimbursement. 

XX/XX/XXXX : I felt anxious and stressed as I had not heard in a few days about my claim as I did request for text updates. I decided to check my notices to see if I received anything and was shocked to see I had four new notices that were all sent out the same day ( XX/XX/XXXX ). Upon reviewing these notices, I saw that the documents stated that no action would be taken as discussed and agreed upon. This shocked me as there was no discussion about no action being taken nor was there any agreement on this either. I contacted the financial institution to inquire about this, and the representative told me that it seemed like the claims were not filed properly, and that he would file a more detailed claim for my case to be investigated. 

XX/XX/XXXX : I received a new notice that stated the transaction ( s ) was sent according to the recipient 's email/phone number and instructions you provided, '' so no actions would be taken. I was confused as I have reiterated multiple times that despite sending her funds back to her through her phone number, the funds never reached her account. I decided to fax in documents to support my claim and explain in detail what happened. I made a call to the financial institution once again to notify them of this, and requested for it to be used in the investigation. 

XX/XX/XXXX : I received a new notice that stated that the transactions made " was processed according to the information you provided or was authorized, '' and that " no adjustment would be made. '' I made another phone call to the financial institution to inquire how this conclusion was made, and whether or not my documents were used during the investigation. The representative told me that it seemed like the documents I sent in were not used, and that it seemed like they were not yet in the system. I was told that I should call back in a few days to inquire about whether or not my documents were received and proceed to ask for the investigation to be re-opened. 

XX/XX/XXXX : I made a phone call to the financial institution to inquire about the documents I faxed and requested to re-open my investigation. The representative on the phone told me that she would request for my claim to be re-opened, however, she did not believe that I would be able to be reimbursed. She told me that she read through my documents, and since the transactions involve XXXX XXXX and XXXX they were unable to do anything. I was told that the most they could do is request for a courtesy check from XXXX XXXX which she believes would likely be rejected. I do not understand why XXXX XXXX would refuse to cooperate to track, locate, and return stolen funds. I further do not understand why my own funds were taken from me by the financial institution to supplement another individuals stolen funds. 

XX/XX/XXXX : I received notices from the financial institution stating that my account was credited {$1.00}, {$990.00}, and {$800.00} as these credits were not owed to me. However, I did not receive an explanation on why these funds were removed from my account even though they were no longer in my possession as shown in my statements. I also did not receive any resolution nor explanation on the claim that was filed concerning the {$1000.00} and {$800.00} I attempted to return to the original owner. I received statements regarding another individuals claim to explain why my account has been debited, but I did not receive any statements regarding my own claim and situation. These notices were sent to me the day after I requested for my claim to be re-opened and for my documents to be used, rendering me to believe no one gave attention towards the documents I submitted. It seems like the financial institution is ignoring my situation despite my continued cooperation. 

Throughout the situation, all I attempted to do was return money to its original owner the moment it was wrongfully sent to me. I do not understand why I am receiving consequences for attempting to do the right thing. I attempted to send the funds back to the original owner using her correct phone number. I also believe that these actions violate the rights that are set in place by regulation E of the EFTA. Throughout the entire situation, the individual posing to be a Chase representative made various statements that sounded like they were legitimately a representative from the financial institution. Furthermore, the supposed representative seemed to have a lot of information on both victims which would be expected from someone that works at the financial institution. The phone number that called both of us also matched that of Chases customer service phone number. Considering all XXXX payments made from the individuals account were all unauthorized, she believed that her account was really compromised and just wanted to cooperate with the financial institution to resolve the issue. We were both made to believe that it was being resolved, and I was instructed to return the money back to its original location.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation