Consumer complaint received 2019-03-29
Company: NAVY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION
State: CA
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Other banking product or service
Issue: Problem with a lender or other company charging your account
Sub-issue: Transaction was not authorized

Complaint:
XXXX does no have fraud protection and a scammer was able to defraud me using XXXX which does not have the same service protections as XXXX. I lost XXXX XXXX out of my Navy Federal Credit Union checking account. The seller asked me to pay them through XXXX instead of my preference of XXXX for an anonymous transaction. I was not aware of XXXX, did a little XXXX to read up on it and discovered its a digital payments service thats backed by Navy Federal Credit Union which made me feel more comfortable about the transaction. The seller told me to use the XXXX mobile application so I thought XXXX was a legit service, and assumed Navy Federal Credit Union would step in to help if anything went wrong. After all, I was sending money directly to another bank account so surely the seller would know they could be tracked down and caught if they attempt fraud?! Unfortunately, proved to not be the case as the seller actually a scammer kept the money, his phone was turned off ; he never responded to any emails- he was gone and I never received the product/service paid for. I filed a complaint with Navy Federal Credit Union. I am unaware if Navy Federal Credit Union 's fraud department tried to call the seller 's bank to follow up on the matter. Navy Federal Credit Union sent me a letter stating theres nothing they can do to help recoup the stolen money. When I emailed a complaint to XXXX Support to help, XXXX responded by sharing a link that explained why XXXX should only be used with family and friends and that XXXX is not responsible for goods or services that are not received. Please see below conversation with NFCU : Subject : Fraud Navy Federal Response XX/XX/XXXX : Thank you for using Navy Federal 's eMessaging Service, Ms. XXXX. 

Thank you for providing information regarding your claim. It has been attached to your dispute claim for reference. If you have any other questions or need additional assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us. 

Sincerely, Debit Card Dispute Resolution Your Message XX/XX/XXXX : From : XXXX Consumer Support <XXXX> Date : Thu, XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX  Subject : Using XXXX To : XXXX <XXXX> Hello XXXX, We are sorry to hear that you have not received the item or service you purchased using XXXX. 

XXXX is a great way to send money to family, friends, and people who you are familiar with, but is not intended to be used to purchase goods or to pay people that you do not know or trust. Sending money to someone you don't know or for something that you are not sure you will get what you paid for ( for example, items bought from an on-line bidding or sales site ), comes with the risk that you may never get what you purchased. Similar to handing over cash, you also risk not getting your money back. We recommend that you not use XXXX for these types of transactions. 

XXXX does not offer a purchase protection program for goods and services that are not received or do not meet your expectations. We recommend contacting your financial institution to request any assistance they may be able to offer regarding the return of your money. 

Best Regards, XXXX Support Call toll-free at XXXX, seven days a week from XXXX XXXX  to XXXX XXXX ET, excluding federal holidays. From outside the United States, call XXXX from XXXX XXXX to XXXX XXXX ET, Monday through Sunday. 
ref : XXXX : ref Navy Federal Response XX/XX/XXXX : Ms. XXXX, Thanks for contacting us about your disputed debit card charge of {$500.00}. Contacting the merchant directly may be the quickest way for you to fix the error. 

We're investigating your claim with the information you provided and will be reaching out to the merchant for a refund, depending on the situation. Here 's what to expect : We'll send you updates throughout the investigation. Check both mail and email. 
It can take longer than 45 days to hear back from the merchant. 
If your charge isn't refunded, we may need more information so we can try again to recover your funds. 
If we think it will take longer than 10 business days, you'll receive a temporary credit for the amount in question. If we can't resolve the issue in your favor, the temporary credit will be removed. We'll notify you before removing the credit. 
Strong documentation will help us recover your money. If you have the following documents, please submit them by signing into https : //my.navyfederal.org/XXXX and sending us a secure message or faxing to XXXX. 
Correspondence ( e.g. emails, texts, letters ) with the merchant regarding cancellation Acknowledgment/receipt from the merchant regarding a credit or refund Proof of return ( i.e. tracking number ) for canceled or returned merchandise Terms and Conditions surrounding your purchase Additionally, for security reasons, we are unable to access the link you provided. As an alternative, you may open the link and copy/paste the information into your response to this message. 
For additional assistance, call us anytime at XXXX. We appreciate your assistance and thank you for your diligence. 
Sincerely, Debit Card Dispute Resolution Your Message XX/XX/XXXX : XXXX XXXX XXXX Business Management XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX , Registered Agent Additional Contact Information Fax Numbers ( XXXX ) XXXX Phone Numbers ( XXXX ) XXXX ( XXXX ) XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX 'The FTC charged this employment-opportunity scammer and his three companies on XX/XX/XXXX with marketing a fraudulent U.S. Postal Service ( USPS ) employment program. The program offered consumers help in getting jobs with the USPS and guaranteed them job placement if they were able to get a certain score on the USPS entrance exam. In reality, jobs, or even the opportunity to apply for jobs, were not available through the defendants. For many consumers, the advertised postal jobs were not available in their area at all. The FTC alleged the defendants, XXXX XXXX XXXX and his companies, XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX ; XXXX XXXX, XXXX ; and XXXX XXXX, XXXX, doing business as XXXX XXXX, XXXX and XXXX XXXX, put classified ads in newspapers across the country. The ads, which read $ ATTENTION $  Now Hiring for Postal Jobs and offered hourly salary rates, paid training and full benefits, led consumers to believe the defendants were connected with the USPS and the hiring process. When consumers called the toll-free numbers listed in the ads, they were told there were jobs available at their local post office. The defendants offered consumers an exam-preparation package and told consumers they had to pay a one-time refundable fee for the study materials. According to the defendants, the materials would assist consumers in getting jobs with the USPS by helping them pass the required entrance exam. The defendants also told consumers that if they scored high enough on the exam, they would receive immediate job placement. The defendants said that their product would include an employment application, a book entitled XXXX XXXX XXXX, 12 practice exams, and a copy of the actual exam. ' Your Message XX/XX/XXXX : From : XXXX XXXX <XXXX> Date : Wed, XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX XXXX   Subject : Credit Repair Scam XXXX XXXX XXXX - XXXX XXXX XXXX To : <XXXX> Cc : <XXXX>, <XXXX> XXXX is a scammer and the principal, treasury, secretary , owner of all his C corporations, created using different CPN numbers ... he offered credit repair for my personal credit. He said that I can purchase a shelf/aged corporation but I didn't want to pay for a shelf corporation. He then said I have to pay him {$4000.00} to fix my credit, and he would help me create an LLC and establish business credit. He said he sells CPNs and I told him that I wasn't interested so he told me that he could use his own tradelines to boosts my credit. He said he would also use 'credit masking ' to correct two personal lines which would hinder his ability to help me obtain business credit. He said it would take him 30-120 days to help me with my personal credit but he would then be able to obtain XXXX in business lines of credit through his private list of lenders he works with. He would then take the XXXX and place it into his 'leveraged brokerage account ' he would take {$2500.00} x 6 payments to pay the broker account and the rest would go into a treasury bond and the bond would give me dividends of $ XXXX which I could use to pay the XXXX line of credit he would obtain for me ... He then would take tradelines/'enhancements ' and add them to the personal and business LOC and he mentioned a 'stand by letter of credit ' being used but did not specifiy what the letter was for or why it was needed. He said after 90 -  120 days my business credit will be fully established. He then brought up CPN usages and how it is legal to use per IRS stating he uses CPNs all the time to create several C corporations and he builds up the corporations and pumps credit into them, uses them and then bankrupts them and he has been in the credit business for ten years. He also asked me for a list of my credit cards for credit repair and when I gave him the list he told me he would pay me to allow him to put authorized users onto my credit cards however I told him that I wasn't interested as I had been a victim of identity theft and just wanted to fix my credit and to establish business credit. He then asked me to send him {$4000.00} for his services using XXXX and he would get started on the " unique program he created for my specific situation. '' It all sounded fishy to me and I called him and told him that it sounded weird and I wanted to cancel. He told me that I was already in some system and it would take a while for him to take me out of the system and refund my money. When I asked him when I would get my money back he said he had to reach out to his partners ( aka himself ) to ask when they could refund the money but he doesn't not have any partners. I then asked specifically when he would give me my money back he wouldn't give me a specific day ( e.g. 24, 48, 72 hours ). Thank goodness only {$500.00} went through and not the {$4000.00}. I told him to just send my {$500.00} back through XXXX and he said it wasn't that easy to do. He told me that he would email me and hung up. Calling his phone back - it went straight to a full voice mail and he did not respond to email. Did not respond to text. I did not have a written contract with XXXX, he just asked me to send him money through XXXX. He told me it would be {$4000.00} and then I told him I wasn't paying that so he dropped his service down to {$2000.00} and I then told him after a few hours to just cancel service. He offers a guarantee on his website but does not specify what it covers. After my complaint he had his virtual assistant change the wording. He did not provide me with any service - just took my money and disappeared. 

My calls were recorded with XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX - XXXX and on XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, XXXX and XXXX for review in investigation. Thank you. 

Respectfully, XXXX XXXX From : XXXX XXXX <XXXX> Date : Wed, XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX XXXX   Subject : You sent {$500.00} to XXXX XXXX. 
To : <XXXX> Your Message XX/XX/XXXX : XXXX Your Message XX/XX/XXXX : XXXX : XXXX Your Message XX/XX/XXXX : XXXX XXXX XXXX ... 

XXXX XXXX XXXX Your Message XX/XX/XXXX : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX used XXXX app XXXX https : //www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2006/06/postal-job-scam-licked XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  Your Message XX/XX/XXXX : NFCU POS Transaction - {$500.00} through XXXX sent to XXXX XXXX XXXX 's bank account Owner of ( XXXX ) XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX TN XXXX Neighborhood : XXXX XXXX XXXX From : XXXX XXXX   <XXXX> Date : Wed, XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX XXXX   Subject : Re : You sent {$500.00} to XXXX XXXX. 
To : <XXXX> XXXX XXXX XXXX , Can you  send me my money back? You did not provide me with any service and I need my money to pay my mortgage. You really feel good about scamming a single mother with children? 

You make a living scamming people? 

You have a daughter too so your a father and grandfather. 

Can you do the right thing and send my money back? 



On Tue, XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX   <XXXX wrote : Please send the {$500.00} back via XXXX - Thank you. 

From : XXXX <XXXX> Date : Tue, XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX XXXX Subject : You sent {$500.00} to XXXX XXXX . 
To : <XXXX> XXXX Logo You sent {$500.00} to XXXX XXXX XXXX Logo Contact Privacy Legal XXXX Logo To learn more , go to XXXX. 
Contact XXXX Support at XXXX, 7 days a week, XXXX-XXXX Eastern. 
XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, AZ XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. 
XXXX and the XXXX related marks and logos are property of XXXX XXXX XXXX , XXXX Your Message XX/XX/XXXX : XXXX XXXX XXXX says he is the Principal, Treasury, President, Secretary on all of his C Corporations. 

Your Message XX/XX/XXXX : XXXX : XXXXcomplaints XXXX : XXXX XXXX XXXX   XXXX # Pattern-of-Complaints ( XXXX ) XXXX Your Message XX/XX/XXXX : XXXX Your Message XX/XX/XXXX : XXXX : XXXX Your Message XX/XX/XXXX : XXXX XXXX XXXX ... 

XXXX : XXXX Your Message XX/XX/XXXX : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX used XXXX app XXXX Your Message XX/XX/XXXX : Pending POS Transaction POS - {$500.00} FRAUD XXXX states that it offers a fast, easy and SAFE way to move money. The " safe '' claim is not true - they are misrepresenting themselves. In addition, there is no recourse with XXXX either thru them or Navy Federal Credit Union. You are made to believe that this is a safe system yet scammers are making lots of money thru this system and winning while we the consumers are being scammed. Most importantly, XXXX and the Navy Federal Credit Union take no responsibility for losses. You can't get a live person at XXXX. In my opinion, these companies and financial institutions should take some responsibility and offer some recourse.

Company public response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation