Consumer complaint received 2018-09-10
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: SC
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Funds not handled or disbursed as instructed

Complaint:
On Wednesday, XX/XX/XXXX I received a phone call ( from XXXX XXXX ) while I was getting a coffee at our campus library around XXXX XXXX. The person on the phone, a receptionist or assistant, asked if this was XXXX XXXX  on the phone. I said yes. He replied with, Maam, this is the department of criminal investigation. We have an FBI agent here, Mr. XXXX, who needs to speak to you about a case you have become involved in. Do you have time to talk with him right now? I said yes. I was transferred to a male who identified himself as XXXX XXXX. XXXX told me I have become victim to identity theft and XXXX XXXX. He said that a XXXX XXXX has been found in XXXX XXXX, Texas abandoned with drugs inside of it. He said the car was under my name, with my social security number. He asked where I was on XX/XX/2018. I told him I was still living in XXXX, and that I have moved to XXXX XXXX  since. He said that they have been trying to get ahold of me for a few days, and that they sent agents to my address in XXXX XXXX. They knew all 3 of my prior addresses back in XXXX. XXXX said that the Texas authorities are going to arrest me and I am going to face 9 years in prison as XXXX XXXX  is a federal crime. He said he looked into my records, and believes I am innocent and among 1 of 32 other cases similar to this during this month. I started to panic, told him I was innocent, and asked what I needed to do to prove it. XXXX  said if I cooperate quickly, he may be able to prove that I have been a victim of identity theft.

XXXX said that we need to get me a new social security number. In order to do that, we need to freeze all of my accounts linked to my social security number, including my bank accounts. He asked how much money I had in my account and I told him. XXXX  said that if there is over a certain amount of money in a bank account that is frozen, the funds will be lost. In order to protect my money, we need to do a 24-hour wire transfer to the government account used in cases like this. He said the money will be put back into my account once my new social security number is added to it. I told XXXX  I am not wiring any money anywhere, and that I will take out the cash and hide them on my own. XXXX yelled Maam, you can not do that! That will make you look even more suspicious to the Texas authorities! I asked if I could transfer the funds to my moms account, and XXXX  said I would be adding her to the case and making her part of the XXXX XXXX offense. XXXX said look, maam, we are trying to help you. But we are running out of time. If you do not cooperate, I will have the authorities arrest you and you will have to take further legal action on your own. I continued to say I was not going to wire my money to anyone, as it is my college funding. He said Maam, take your next phone call please.

A minute later, I received a phone call with caller ID XXXX. THE CALLER ID WAS XXXX.The man identified as Officer XXXX XXXX . XXXX  asked if this was XXXX XXXX. I say yes. XXXX  said, Maam, listen. You have been victim of identity theft and the FBI is trying to stop you from getting arrested. However, we have enough evidence to arrest you right now, and we will if you do not cooperate right now. XXXX is going to call you back, please listen to him for your own sake. A minute later, XXXX called me back. XXXX asked, Maam, are you ready to cooperate? I asked what I needed to do next. XXXX said that the FBI is monitoring activity on all of my accounts, including credit cards, bank accounts, my internet searches, email, and text messages. They are trying to trace unusual activity, and are seeing some from Michigan, New York, and Texas. XXXX  said that the most important thing to do right now is protect my funds and that we need to freeze my bank account. He asked me what bank I go through, and I said XXXX. He said the nearest XXXX XXXX  from my current location was in Georgia on XXXX XXXX XXXX, about an hour and 20 minutes away from me. XXXX said I needed to go immediately. It was around XXXX, and I had a presentation at XXXX. I told XXXX that I needed to go tell my professor about the emergency so I may be excused from class. XXXX  said, maam you need to understand that this is a federal investigation and that anyone you speak to you will be adding to the case and potentially put in danger. I said I understood, and would tell him it was a personal emergency. I went inside, spoke with my professor, and grabbed my belongings. In the meantime, a classmate stopped me and asked what was going on. XXXX yelled, Maam if you tell anyone any details you are adding them to the case. You need to be careful with what you do right now! I told my classmate it was an emergency, I am okay, and left. When I got to my car, XXXX said I needed to stay on the phone with him the entire car ride so they can monitor my activity and make sure I am safe. I told XXXX  I needed to add the bank address to my GPS, so he hung up for about 15 seconds while I setup the GPS on my XXXX. During the car ride, XXXX thanked me for helping with this case and told me I was helping them find criminals. He said he has daughters my same age and wants to keep me safe. He then said that there was activity on my email account from Kentucky.

I lost connection to my GPS about halfway there, and told XXXX we needed to hang up so I could re-connect. XXXX said not to bother, and he would direct me the rest of the way. I needed to stop for gas, and XXXX directed me to the XXXX gas station off the same exit as my bank. I told him I needed to go to the bathroom and he said he understood it has been a long car ride, and that I can go but need to stay on the phone with him, so I did. After that, XXXX directed me from the gas station to XXXX XXXX.

XXXX asked which email I should have the attorney on my case send the wiring information. I told him. XXXX then said, actually XXXX ( the supposed federal attorney on my case ), requests to send the information to XXXX. He said that my identity thefts have access my emails and texts, and if they see texts from a government phone number, the hackers will flee and the FBI wont be able to catch them. So, XXXX XXXX XXXX   introduced himself to me on XXXX He then sent the wire beneficiary routing information. I asked XXXX if I should tell the bank teller that I will be doing a wire transfer to the government. XXXX said, you will be adding her to the case if you do. I started to panic. I told XXXX I am uncomfortable doing this and it felt like a scam. XXXX  yelled, Maam, are you serious! We had 911 call you! I have been on the phone with you for 2 hours! We are trying to stop you from getting expelled from school and doing to prison for 9 years. You are frustrating me and I can hang up right now and get you arrested. Look up this phone number online. It goes to the department of federal investigation. So we hung up, and I looked up the phone number, and it went to this website : XXXX XXXX XXXX. XXXX  called again, and asked if I was ready to protect my money, I said yes.

XXXX said to hurry. The FBI will be meeting me at my house and I need to get at my apartment by XXXX  sharp with the documents to assign me a new social security number, and share more details about my case. I asked XXXX if we could meet somewhere besides my apartment, as I didnt want to make my roommates feel uncomfortable. He said he understood, and that we can meet at the XXXX  at XXXX ( a local grocery store down the street from my apartment ).

I then went inside to make the wire transaction. XXXX told me to leave some money in the account ( I left {$300.00} ) so it doesnt close and look suspicious to the hackers. I said okay. XXXX told me to keep the receipt for my own security and that the attorney might need a picture of it. When I got back in the car, XXXX texted me through XXXX asking for a picture of both the receipt and my drivers license. I sent it. XXXX asked when I would be home, and the GPS said XXXX. XXXX said that its getting too late, and that we have to move the meeting to tomorrow morning ( XX/XX/XXXX ) instead. I panicked again, and said I want to see someone tonight. XXXX said, Maam, you need to trust me. Additionally, I want to make you aware that we have put a freeze on all of your accounts and that you are safe from the identity thefts.

XXXX said he was leaving the office for the night, and he would be in contact with me in the morning. He hung up. I immediately messaged XXXX and asked him to call me. I told him this was very uncomfortable for me as they have all of my college funding in their hands. XXXX then sent me images of other wire transfers from other victims. One person sent {$10000.00}, another sent {$40000.00}, and other {$100000.00}. He said, Look, there are a number of people who have done wire transfer. You are not the only one. We have gotten a number of cases like this. You are among them. I asked when I will be refunded, and he said the whole process takes about 24 hours. He said the Financial Department of US treasury will be doing the refund to my account after my new social security number is linked to it. I demanded that XXXX call me, so he did. He said he understood my concern, and that he wanted me to go home and relax. After hanging up, XXXX sent a message saying, Make sure that you stay confidential and alert as your entire information is on tracking mode. He said to message him when I got home, so I did. Although I was scared that my phone was being monitored, I looked up the phone number ID from XXXX online, which led me to the South Carolina Attorney General. The website was : http : //www.scag.gov/contact-us. I realized that XXXX   said he was my federal attorney from Washington DC. But the phone numbers area code was from XXXX, South Carolina. I immediately questioned XXXX. His response was, Maam, I am in Washington DC. You were connected to me through the South Carolina office.

XXXX said to try not to check any of my accounts as it will potentially disrupt tracking down the hackers. He said that my house was being watched, and that I need to be careful what I do because any suspicious activity will not help my case. He said to stop with the absurd internet searching, like looking up his phone number online. XXXX said I need to be careful with my internet searches, as I am in tracking mode and anything can be used against me in the case. He said to have the following documents ready for my interview in the morning ; A copy of my passport, copy of my drivers license, copy of my health insurance ID, copy of my employee ID, and 2 passport sized photographs. Lastly, he said to stay in my room all night, so I did.

I constantly looked out the window that night, waiting for XXXX to come around. Finally, onXX/XX/XXXX at XXXX, XXXX  messaged me saying, Good morning. I will call you once Mr. XXXX gets into the office. You need to stay at your residence as we need to take your interview today and we need to assign you with a new SSN and pass the refund back into your account. The interview will be between XXXX and XXXX. He told me that XXXX XXXX  is currently visiting the courthouse to assign my new documents. I asked why the meeting keeps getting pushed back. He responded with, Maam, we just got to our office. Our team just arrived now and we will be making your paperwork with authorized judicials. We just spoke with our financial team and your refund will happen by XXXX. I asked if I could please go to my morning class, as I dont want to fall behind anymore in school. He said I was allowed, but I need to go straight home after class and be ready for the interview at XXXX sharp. After class, I started panicking again. I told XXXX I am getting very afraid, and again that they had my entire college funding in their hands. I told him I wanted to tell my professor why I missed my presentation the other day. XXXX   messaged me, everything will be taken care of after your interview at XXXX. Then you can share details with whoever you want.

I asked XXXX  the status on the hackers. He said that they found activity in Virginia, and have some people on my case who are currently being interrogated. He said he wasnt able to share more details for legal reasons, but the agents who are coming to my apartment will have more details about the case for me. I verified that the government officials will be meeting me in person at XXXX. XXXX messaged, maam I want you to keep patience and let me work on your case as you are not the only person whom I need to look for. We have other cases as well. I cant reply to you here all the time. If I have any updates I will let you know.

While in class, I messaged XXXX  asking if were still on track for XXXX and that I am afraid. He replied, why. I said, because you have all of my money!! XXXX  replied with, Dont worry, maam. Everything will be fine, just wait for your interview. Your money is secure, so please dont worry about they money. I told him I wanted to talk to XXXX XXXX   and that I was going to call him. XXXX said, yes maam. We can only call you once Mr. XXXX is free. Currently he is busy in the courthouse making your documents and preparing your refunds. Doesnt that make sense to you? I replied, You have my entire college fund in your hands. This is getting scary and taking longer than originally planned. XXXX replied, if you dont let us work this is going to stop your refund. The government works according to some conditions. You need to wait. I told him I am trying to wait, but I am getting scared. XXXX said, I can directly put all money back into your account with the same SSN. if you lose the funds from your account you alone will be responsible for further legal actions. I said, No! I can not lose my funds, please protect them! XXXX replied with, Okay.

XXXX then called me around XXXX. He told me he was at the XXXX  courthouse working on my case as fast as he can. He tried to comfort me and said he understands why I am panicking about my money. He apologized that the process is taking longer than he originally told me, and that two of the judges on my case came into the office late that day. He assured me that this whole thing will be over by the end of the day, and I will have all of my money back. He said he will call me as soon as he is done at the courthouse. I said okay.

I went home, it was XXXX. I sat in my room and waiting until XXXX. I wanted to hear updates from XXXX, so I called ( XXXX XXXX XXXX. I spoke with a female in the criminal investigation department. I said i was calling to speak with XXXX XXXX  on my case, and XXXX said that no one by that name works for the FBI.

I had been scammed.

I grabbed my keys, sprinted to my car and drove to the nearest police department. We called the Bank of America fraudulent department, where the funds were wired to. The man on the phone said the funds have already been removed from the account.

I am XXXX years old, a XXXX  student studying XXXX XXXX, and I am a victim of financial fraudulence. I was lured in through victimization of identity theft and XXXX XXXX. I have been robbed over {$10000.00} from my savings account that I started when I got my first job as a XXXX XXXX  in XXXX XXXX. That savings account was for my college education. It included my rent for the next 12 months, savings for my health insurance bills, and study abroad funding to study XXXX in XXXX. I now have {$200.00} to my name, with a {$350.00} credit card bill due soon.

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 explanation