Consumer complaint received 2023-09-08
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: NJ
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Domestic (US) money transfer
Issue: Fraud or scam

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX of 2023 I applied for a job as " XXXX XXXX XXXX '' for the " XXXX XXXX XXXX '' through XXXX. After back and forth with their representative I was notified of my acceptance for the position on XX/XX/2023. After filling paperwork and providing them with a copy of my driver 's license the company informed me that they would be sending me a check for {$4900.00} to deposit into my checking account to pay their " vendor '' for the necessary equipment for the position. This struck me as odd and even odder that they wanted me to pay through XXXX. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I made the deposit into my checking account at Citibank and immediately called Citibank as I was suspicious that this check appeared fraudulent. I informed them of the whole situation and my suspicion that this was part of a scam. 
Citibank informed me that their systems were reading it as a real check, connected to a real account with the necessary funds. I still waited 24 hours for Citibank to finish processing. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I proceeded to call Citibank again to verify the authenticity of the check. It was on this call that Citibank once again verified the authenticity of the check and informed me that it was safe to transfer the money to the account in question. I made sure to note for a second time that I felt that this might be a scam and they assured me that my personal finances were safe and protected incase this was in fact a fraudulent check. After that call I made a {$2000.00} transfer to the XXXX they requested ( XXXX account " @ XXXX '' ) and since their was a limit on the amount, the rest of the {$2900.00} was sent to a secondary account they provided through XXXX to a XXXX XXXX ( email address XXXX ). 

I proceeded to call Citibank on XX/XX/XXXX to continue verifying the authenticity of the check and state my suspicion and worry. 

On XX/XX/XXXX the company " XXXX XXXX XXXX '' reached out to me stating they hadn't sent enough to the vendor and that they would be sending me another check for {$4500.00} to have me deposit in my checking account and pay the " vendor ''. 
I deposited the check into my accounts and immediately called Citibank, I informed them that I was beyond certain that this was bank/checking fraud but they continued to inform me that the checks were real and that my accounts were protected. At this point I held the remaining {$4500.00} in my account without dispersing them. As I was afraid that despite Citibanks assurances and insistence that these checks were real, it could not be. 

On XX/XX/XXXX Citibank cleared the check in my account again and I proceeded to call them and assert my suspicion of fraud despite their promises. I informed them to stop the XXXX and XXXX transfers on my end. I filed an FTC report ( Report Number XXXX ). I notified XXXX to stop the transfer of any money under the suspicion of fraud ( Case Number XXXX ) On XX/XX/XXXX I finally had the time to go over to my local Police Department XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX ) and file an official report of suspected fraud ( XXXX ). I proceeded to call Citibank and inform them that an official police report has been filed, yet again Citibank refused to take the situation as seriously as I had hoped they would. 
Later that day I was instructed by contact at " XXXX XXXX XXXX '' to send the {$4500.00} in question to the XXXXXXXX XXXX account of : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX I did not, and have not transferred that money. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I had the time to call the XXXX, XXXX branch office of the FBI. It was then that they informed me I should call the bank the checks were issued from ; XXXXXXXX XXXXk. After disconnecting from them I reached out to XXXX Bank, who finally checked into my suspicions and confirmed with me that the account was real but the name on the account was fraudulent and to send them all the information I had on the case. They then opened an investigation. 

On XX/XX/XXXX without so much as a phone call Citibank bounced the checks and deducted the money from the accounts, leaving me {$4900.00} negative despite all of their assurances. 

At every step of the way I informed Citibank of possible fraud and they assured me I was safe every single time. Every conversation with Citi has been noted and recorded, yet they are still saying we are liable. Every transfer made was noted through Citibank with a phone call. It is the job of the bank to protect its client from fraud, and they failed us at every step. While {$4900.00} may not seem like a lot to the bank, it is a lot to me and my family.

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