Consumer complaint received 2023-08-20
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: CA
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Other banking product or service
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Problem using a debit or ATM card

Complaint:
On Friday, XX/XX/XXXX, I was the victim of a fraudulent scheme in which an imposter claiming to be a Citibank representative drained both my savings and my checking accounts of my life savings, {$50000.00}. She was pretending to flag suspicious activity on my debit card. She made six unauthorized fraudulent wire transfers from my savings account to four beneficiary banks. There were also four unauthorized fraudulent XXXX transactions sent from my checking account. 

I immediately called Citibank moments after hanging up the call, when I realized I had been scammed. Citibank has been unresponsive, unhelpful, unprofessional, demonstrating no sense of urgency or empathy. They seem to be indifferent to an emergency situation because with wire transfers, time is of the essence to stop or recall them. 

I have been on the phone with Citibank virtually nonstop since this occurred. I have called them dozens and dozens of times. Whenever I was put on hold and a call was disconnected, I had to call back and re-explain the entire situation to a new representative. When I asked why they never call me back, they said they are not allowed to make outgoing calls. Their representatives have not been able to answer questions, they have engaged in stonewalling me, they have yet to connect me with the proper personnel for this problem. 

Citibank told me on Friday that XXXX recalls were to be issued for the six wire transfers, and I was given a case number. However, since then, we have had no confirmation that the recalls were made, Citibank has never contacted me back with any updates, they have left me in the dark as to what procedures they are undergoing and the status of this theft. None of the Citibank representatives I've spoken to have known what a recall is -- in fact, several asked me to explain to them what it is. 

Multiple Citibank representatives told me to call their wire transfer department on Saturday because it was open from XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX However, that was not true. When I called, a recording said they were open Monday through Friday. Thus, I had to inform multiple Citibank reps of their own company 's operating hours. Then they repeatedly told me I would just have to call back on Monday, ignoring the urgency of wire transfer fraud. Their contention seems to be that fraud only occurs during business hours Monday through Friday. They were giving the criminals a head start. They refused to connect me with anyone who had expertise. Even on the fraud prevention number, they had no knowledge of the details of my case nor how to manage an ongoing incident of fraud. The criminals seemed to have more expertise than actual Citibank employees. 

It is hard to describe how absurd this experience has been, trying to communicate with one of the largest financial institutions in the world, which seems to have no protocol in place for responding to fraud. 

This flurry of wire transfers of large sums completely draining my savings and checking accounts was abnormal, atypical activity. Why wasnt this flagged and halted? Why wasnt this blocked? I have never made a wire transfer. I rarely withdraw money from this account. Why would a customer drain their entire life savings in the course of a couple hours on a Friday XXXX  without requesting that their account be closed? Why would I leave XXXX dollars in my savings account and risk being penalized for not having Citibank 's required minimum of {$1500.00} in the account? Why would I transfer large and similar sums to four different banks and four different people? The whole thing reeked of fraud. Citibanks reaction : Slow and clumsy. No one seems to know what to do. 

Theft from a major bank that does not seem to know how to stop it? Unacceptable. 

The person posing as a Citibank representative called and texted from authorized, official Citibank phone numbers, which I later confirmed with Citibank, and which they even had me call. She hacked into my account. 

The incredible absence of fraud prevention and the lack of assistance from Citibank can only lead me to conclude that they have been negligent in their response to this customer. 

Please contact me for further information. Thank you for reviewing my case. All the money I earned is gone. I'm not sure how to move forward. I have heard from various people that CFPB has helped consumers recover their stolen money.

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