Consumer complaint received 2020-02-05
Company: PEOPLE'S UNITED BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: CT
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Problem using a debit or ATM card

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX, I received a phone call from People 's Bank call center number stating that there were  potential fraudulent charges on my account. The caller said there was a charge to XXXX, and one to XXXX   out of Georgia, which I confirmed were fraudulent and said do not process. The caller then listed off my last 2 days worth of debit transactions - date, place, and amounts. He said they were freezing my account due to the fraudulent attempts at XXXX and XXXX. He stated they could allow me to have {$200.00} of my balance available so that I could go to the branch and make a withdrawal to cover my gas and grocery expenses, but that I would have to close my existing accounts and open new ones. 

After I got off the phone with him, I received emails from Peoples Bank stating 2 different individuals were added as person to person contacts, and that payments were initiated to each of them in the amount of {$500.00} per transfer ( total of {$1000.00} stolen ). I immediately called the People 's Bank fraud department ( it took 25 minutes on hold to get through to a rep ), while I was on hold I responded to People 's Bank emails stating my account had been hacked, these are fraudulent charges, and I do not authorize them. I also said the same to the rep from the Fraud Department when I got through. They advised me they were freezing the accounts, to go to my local branch the next day ( it was already after banking hours ) to file an affidavit of dispute, close my existing accounts, and open new ones. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I went to People 's Bank with the completed affidavit, screen shots of the phone call that came to me from their call center number, and copies of the emails that I received and replied to disputing the charges. While they were opening up new accounts for me, they advised me that the phone number on my account had been changed - my phone number was deleted, and a new phone number of XXXX was added to my account. They couldn't explain to me how this happened, or why I didn't receive a security alert text message from them notifying me of the change when it occurred. They faxed the paperwork to the claims department and said I would hear back in a few days. 

I didn't hear back from them, so I called the Claims Department on XX/XX/XXXX and they told me that the claim was denied. They said I must've given the person information to get into my account - I again explained he was already in my account and had all my recent transactions when he called me. The fraud department said they can't explain how that happened, there was nothing more they can do, and to have the local branch manager contact them. I called XXXX XXXX, Branch Manager, explained the situation again and she contacted them. After speaking with them, XXXX said to me that the Claims Department is " inundated with fraudulent claims and they are just denying all of them ''. She provided them with additional information, they agreed to reopen my case and have it back in " processing status ''. She told me to call back in a few days to follow up. I called her on XX/XX/XXXX to follow up, she reached out to the Claims Department again, and they said the case was still pending, she said she would call me back when they have an answer. I didn't hear back from anyone as of Monday XXXX, so I called XXXX back. She reached out to the Claims Department and again they said they had closed the case, rejected the claim, and there was nothing more they would do to fix the situation. I asked for a call back from a Regional Manager as this was unsatisfactory, no fault of mine, this person was already in my account when he called me, somehow there were no safeguards in place at the bank which allowed him to change the demographics in my account, I notified them immediately when this happened, filed all the necessary paperwork and supporting documentation, and this was clearly a security breach on their end. I got a call from XXXX XXXX who said he's the Customer Experience Manager for XXXX County. He said he can't explain how the person was in my account before they called me, has no explanation as to how he was able to delete my contact information and input his own, and also doesn't know why there aren't safeguards in place that all other banks have such as 24 hour holding periods when new Person to Person Contacts are added, to prevent people being able to immediately wipe out funds. When I asked about my deposits being federally insured, and how I'm supposed to feel safe depositing my funds into their bank accounts, he said FDIC only applies " if the bank gets robbed '', if they don't have proper cyber security and safety measures in place, and someone hacks the bank account and wipes out a person 's savings, there is nothing the bank will do about it. 

I went back to the local branch last night, XX/XX/XXXX, and spoke with XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX, branch managers, to request a full transaction history - both from a fiduciary standpoint and also demographic standpoint, asking for all memos to file with regards to when changes were made to my account, how they were done ( online or via phone ), etc. because this was clearly a breach in security and a full Account Takeover. They couldn't provide me with a printout of the memos to file with time stamps as to when it occurred, nor would the Claims Department. The Claims Department asked for a request from an Attorney before they would release that. They provided me with a printout of the account statement ( nothing more than what I could've downloaded online ), and a handwritten note stating that on XX/XX/XXXX through online banking, my phone number was deleted, and a number of ( XXXX ) XXXX was added to the account. Again, they couldn't explain why I did not get a text message notification from People 's Bank when this change occurred, or why someone was able to add these fraudulent Person to Person contacts and within minutes start immediately withdrawing funds. 

I acted on this situation within minutes of seeing the emails - less than an hour after the Person to Person transactions happened. I provided all requested documentation immediately, and filed the affidavit immediately. I have been banking with People 's for over 15 years, I have never had a Person to Person account setup, I have never in 15 years wired funds to anyone, I have never had a fraudulent claim, or requested stop payments on any checks. I can not believe that within minutes someone can hack into my account, wipe out {$1000.00} and the bank refuses to do anything to remedy this situation when this clearly was a security breach with improper safeguards on their end. As a single mother, I live paycheck to paycheck. That {$1000.00} was everything that was set aside at the end of the month for all of my utilities. As a result of this, I ended up with past due payments to my utility accounts, and was left scrambling for money to cover gas to get back and forth to work, as well as groceries to feed my XXXX. I am also very distressed by the fact that I was told the fraud department is " inundated with claims '', and days after this happened to me, an alert was put up on the home page of the People 's Bank website. It is quite obvious that I am not the only person this has happened to recently. I can't understand how the bank is allowed to get away with this - they are accepting deposits from customers who think that their money is safe in an account, they don't have proper security in place so they are completely liable for this, and now they won't rectify their errors.

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief