Consumer complaint received 2017-05-13
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: AZ
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Deposits and withdrawals

Complaint:
I have been a customer of Bank of America for 14yrs. I have never had any problems with BOA no complaints or concerns until now. My complaint is the inconsistency in which each Branch handles fraudulent check situations, especially if a customer is informed by the Financial Center Manager that people attempt to cash fraudulent checks every day. If this is the case, then all BOA branches should be proactive and follow standard procedures to prevent what happened to my son and his account would not be insufficient {$6500.00} today. I have confirmed with several BOA branches in the XXXX, AZ area what their procedure is when a non-customer comes into the bank to cash a fraudulent check into a BOA customers account. I was told every other bank institution that the individual is notified that the check is fraud, the person is requested to present ID to verify and if the check is fraud then the check is stamped with a RTM Return to Merchant this way the check is void and no attempt can be made to deposit the check. I have a joint account with my son who is XXXXyr XXXX XXXX in XXXX, AZ. He was approached by an Imposter who is a XXXX XXXX and resides in XXXX, AZ to cash a check in the amount of {$6500.00}. My son was not aware the check was made out to him. He had not seen the check because he was in XXXX, Az. His phone can be tracked. My son assumed it was a personal or a payroll drafted out to XXXXmposter. My son offered to give the Imposter his debit card along with his pin # through through a mutual friend who was traveling to XXXX, AZ. On XXXX/XXXX/XXXX the Imposter entered BOA located XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, AZ XXXX and attempted to deposit the check that was made out to my son. He was told by the teller, and the Financial Center Manager XXXX along with a bank representative that the check was fraud and could not be deposited. No other recourse was taken to ensure this repeated scenario would continue to happen. I was told by the Branch Manager that this happens every day. Well if this the case the Imposter was not asked to present I.D . to verify who he was. He was not my Son because my son was in XXXX and the video footage for that day will prove proof of this. ( I have a copy of the BOA check front and back that drafted from XXXX XXXX located in XXXX XXXX, IL written out to my Son signed by Imposter ) ( I have photos of the Imposter, my Son and verification of My sons signature on his DL. I also have the number to BOA Corp Security to  view video footage on what took place on XXXX. If the BOA Branch Manager would have done her due diligence and requested Imposters photo ID to verify that he was not my son the check could have been stamped with the RTM code, confiscated and documented as an alert and all of this could have been avoided. But instead the Imposter walked out of the bank with the fraudulent check and went to another BOA location in XXXX, AZ and deposited the check on XXXX/XXXX/XXXX through the ATM. Of course, Imposter did not notify My son that this check was fraud. My son assumed the check was accepted by the bank because of his bank balance and on XXXX/XXXX/XXXX went into the same BOA location at XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX. XXXX, AZ XXXX where the same check was attempted to be deposited by the Imposter on XXXX/XXXX/XXXX. The teller allocated {$6200.00} to my son without verifying that is transaction could over draw his account because it was still being processed through the ATM. Before this check was cashed My son had less this {$100.00} cash in his account. No ID was requested yes he had to put in his pin # however again if the BOA Branch Center Manger would have done her due diligence to prevent future fraud acts the teller could have been alerted before cashing the fraud check. I was told by BOA Branch Center Manger that the reason the check was cashed for {$6200.00} was because of my history with XXXX and it was cashed in good faith. My definition of Good faith is {$100.00} maybe {$500.00} until the check completely clears. As a good faithl customer of BOA I would like to have comfort in knowing that BOA will do their due diligence in preventing something like this to happen within a 2day period at the same branch no doubt. I was informed my the Branch Manager that In addition to collecting funds from my son because  we have a joint account, the bank may also charge a fee, particularly if the reversal results in NSF checks, etc. Banks may also freeze or close my account or take money from other accounts that I have at that bank, bring suit against me to recover the funds, or report me to a checking account abuse database. In some cases it is possible that law enforcement could bring charges against me because it may look like we were both involved in the scam and knew the check was counterfeit, because FDIC insurance does not cover losses due to theft or fraud. In the meantime, BOA will not allow us to file a claim regarding this incident and holding My son accountable and libel for the amount of the fraud check for {$6500.00}. The only thing my son is guilty of here is trusting this Imposter. There is no prove he was a part of this scam. Why would my son risk going back to the exact same branch location and being caught on video taking out the cash on a fraudulent check if he thought he was doing something illegal. We are in the process right now of filing a police report to press charges against Imposter. I have made payment arrangements with the BOA. We have since been trying to reach out to Imposter of course his phone number is now disconnected, he blocked my son on all social media contacts after he reached out to him to notify him that the check was fraud. We have confirmed that the Imposter resides in XXXX, AZ working as a XXXX and he currently has an active XXXX and XXXX account. Its just a matter of time before the XXXX, police will catch up with him. My resolution at this point is that BOA will allow us to file a claim and hold the imposter accountable. My was son is a victim in this situation. BOA should do a better job in protecting their good faith customers especially if these are repeated attempts. Its no wonder why this is continuing to happen because there are no set standards in place to prevent this in all branches.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation