Consumer complaint received 2021-10-31
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: NY
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Problem with a lender or other company charging your account
Sub-issue: Transaction was not authorized

Complaint:
My husband ( XXXX XXXX ) has been through 2 XXXX and three XXXX XXXX ( he has been on a lot of meds and his XXXX not functions well at all, and me, his wife as his proxy during his hospital stay ) since XX/XX/2021. During his hospital stay in XXXX ( He was hospitalized from XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX ), he received a call from unknown caller saying his XXXX account ( he has/had one with XXXX $ and never check for years ) would be closed and he needed to transfer money to his XXXX account. My husband had all our financial apps on his cell since he was the one who was in charge of our family finance. This is what my husband told me about the scam : " It was a guy who said he was from XXXX. I had purchased some cryptocurrency months before, and now this guy was claiming that my account was now locked, and he could guide me through the steps to unlock it.I was skeptical, but proceeded. 
To do this, he told me that I first needed to put a couple of Apps on my phone. 
XXXX allowed the scammer to connect to my XXXX remotely and see every move I made on my phone. There was also a record function that he told me to activate so that every move I did was recorded. There must be a record of this somewhere. I have since deleted the app from my phone. 
XXXX did a similar thing of giving access to the scammer to see my moves again. 
So what was the scam? 
OnceI had established a connection with the scammer, he made me go into my XXXX account and purchase specified amounts of XXXX. Amounts totaled in the thousands of dollars. 
Yes, I thought I was being scammed all along, but the scammer assured me that all these purchases were just for show and everything would be restored when we were done. 
Then, once I purchased the Bitcoin, he had me use XXXX to send the Bitcoin to another unknown account. When I asked who the account belonged to, he said it was one of the senior account managers.I hit SEND. 
The guy tried to call me the next day to continue the sabotage. My family was in the middle of raising about $ XXXX from a XXXX effort to raise money for my high hospital bills, and this was taking a bite out of it. Some of the XXXX transfers did not go through right away. I got emails from Citibank saying such info, but I think it all ultimately went through. He kept calling back, but I started to not answer the calls. Then Citibank called me from their fraud dept. I told them I was scammed and gave details.I even mentioned the apps, and insisted that there must be a record of the fraud. '' Since XX/XX/XXXX I had been calling and even went to the XXXX XXXX  to report the same and the clerk immediately closed my bank card and block my bank account. The staff from the Citi bank XXXX filed a fraud for me also since every time I called citi bank and they gladly took a note but nothing following. Eventually I received letters from citi Bank on investigation on this cases. Since the scam happed multiples, 4 times through XXXX to the same person ( who we don't know ), total XXXX $ and multiples through XXXX, total XXXX $ ( Bank refunded to our account for this one ). During XXXX to XXXX, the bank kept sending confused letters ( they messed the two cases, XXXX and XXXX XXXX and deny my claim and I went the Citi bank XXXX to have them help me to get the cases going. However, each time it took more than 1 hour to talk with the representative and eventually, the bank manger told me its not their business to help me and I was shouldered off, which I filed a complain to Citibank. Of course nothing happen. I sent them the medical statement from the XXXX  ( the XXXX ) to proof that my husband was not able to make decision on such transfer and it was a fraud. Once again they decline the claim through an letter. I had citi bank XXXX people help me to call them to get the investigation information which I should obtain by law. But they didnt send me but just another letter of denial and told me its closed. On XX/XX/XXXX, I called again and open the case, but on XX/XX/XXXX, they told me they remained the same deny and consider this case closed. 
It is not only this is my husband medical bills money and I have a XXXX years old son to raise, and we are living on XXXX $ food stamps because my husband is not able to return to work and I have to take care of my husband and my XXXX years old son day and night, but most importantly, the Citi Bank manipulated their power to not fulfill their duty to safe guard our life savings and didnt do any necessary to get our loss back under the condition they were told several times and IMMEDIATELY its a fraud, and they did not send us the investigation after we requested. What they did during this period was sending me wrong letters of denials, and kept me running to the XXXX office for help since every time I called the service number they couldn't put me to the right person to speak, or they had someone who spoke unidentifiable language, possibly English. and every time it took me or the citi XXXX more than one hour to get things going.

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