Consumer complaint received 2020-09-03
Company: BOEING EMPLOYEES CREDIT UNION
State: WA
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Problem caused by your funds being low
Sub-issue: Bounced checks or returned payments

Complaint:
My wife pursued a job opportunity posted on XXXX for data entry from home. During the hiring process, the " company '' ( XXXX , XXXX ) asked if she wanted her wages paid via direct deposit. She said yes, they asked for our bank account number and routing number. They then told her that they would pay her a certain amount of money to purchase office equipment and software, by sending portions of the money to various people using apps such as XXXX, XXXX and XXXX. They however, did not state how they would pay her. 
On XX/XX/XXXX, she checked our bank account balance and found that there was a {$2500.00} " mobile deposit '' in our account. She did not authorize this, but assumed this had to do with the new job. She then proceeded to send money to various people via XXXX and XXXX. During this process, she decided this was a scam and did not want the job. She contacted the " company '' and stated she changed her mind. They acknowledged this, but requested their money back. Due to transaction limits on the transfer apps, she had to pay them in increments. The final payment she made was to " XXXX XXXX '' on XXXX for {$800.00}. That, in theory, completed paying back the {$2500.00} they paid her. 

However, looking on our bank transaction record, there were multiple more withdrawals from our checking account to " XXXX XXXX '' on XXXX, totaling {$1500.00}. None of these were authorized. Then our record shows a {$330.00} transfer to our savings account ( same bank ), and immediately afterwards a {$370.00} transfer FROM savings TO checking. Neither of us authorized either of those. After this, another {$500.00} was withdrawn from our savings account, again to " XXXX XXXX '' on XXXX. 

At this point, on XX/XX/XXXX, our checking account balance was {$1.00} and our savings account balance was {$3.00}. The same day, our bank flags the {$2500.00} deposit made on XX/XX/XXXX as " descriptive withdrawal- returned deposit '', as it states on our transaction record. This then makes our bank account balance - {$2400.00}. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, we received a letter from our bank ( see attachment ) on thick paper stating this deposit was returned because " altered/ fictitious '', and below is an image of a check, which is perforated for some reason. The check was from a company called " XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX '' in XXXX, OH. We had never heard of this company before, and to my wife 's knowledge, this company was unrelated to XXXX XXXX XXXX which had been in touch with her before. This check came from an account with XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX in XXXX, OH. The check amount was the {$2500.00} which supposedly was the " mobile deposit '', but my wife 's full name was printed on the back where it would be endorsed. The font used to print her name looks like a font used when one " e-signs '' legal documents. 

I have contacted my bank asking about this check. They stated to me that either I or my wife made a mobile deposit of this check, knowing that it was fraudulent, and then proceeded to spend fraudulent money. All of these claims are false. A " mobile deposit '' to me implies that it is when one takes a picture of a check with their phone and deposits through the bank 's mobile app. However, neither of us have our bank 's app installed on our phones, and my wife was camping on the day the check was deposited, in a location where she had no cellular service. 

As one could see, I have two issues going on. One is the electronic theft of {$2000.00} from our bank accounts. This portion I am already addressing. I have contacted the local XXXX XXXX XXXX office where XXXX XXXX XXXX is located. I have contacted the Federal Trade Commission, I have contacted the Pennsylvania office of the Attorney General ( XXXX XXXX XXXX is supposedly located in Pennsylvania ). And finally, we have sought legal advice locally, our bank is currently reviewing all of these events, and we filed a police report with our local police department in XXXX, WA. 

The second issue is this {$2500.00} check that our bank thinks we owe them. As stated before, the check supposedly came from a company in XXXX, OH, with a bank account with XXXX. I contacted XXXX to inform them of this, and they are investigating on their end. I also contacted the XXXX XXXX XXXX office in XXXX, OH and they confirmed this " company '' ( XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ) does not exist. 

I also question my bank 's actions ( or lack of action ) for informing us of unusual bank activity. Last year I went out of the country and informed them beforehand. They still called me within the hour when I withdrew money from a foreign ATM. However on the other hand, a large check is deposited, supposedly with the mobile app, and it takes them six days to flag it as fake? By that time, my bank account had already been cleaned out. 

Please note : excuse the handwritten notes on the uploaded attachments. That was my attempt to sort out this entire mess. 

Also, please contact me by phone or email if there are any questions or more information needed.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation