Consumer complaint received 2023-06-09
Company: Chime Financial Inc
State: GA
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Banking errors

Complaint:
I WAS TRYING TO REACH CHIME BECAUSE I HAD RECEIVED TWO DIFFERENT CREDIT CARDS IN THE MAIL, BUT I NEEDED A DEBIT CARD INSTEAD OF ONE OF THE CREDIT CARDS. SO I XXXX  THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE NUMBER SINCE NONE OF THE AUTOMATED CHOICES WERE HELPING ME, AND I WAS NOT ABLE TO GET A LIVE HUMAN TO HELP ME. WHEN I CLICKED ON THAT PHONE NUMBER FROM THE SEARCH, SOMEONE ANSWERED THE PHONE AS CHIME CUSTOMER SERVICE, IMPERSONATING A CHIME EMPLOYEE WHOM I THOUGHT WAS DOING THEIR JOB AND HELPING ME WITH MY PROBLEM. 
THIS PERSON INSTRUCTED ME TO DOWNLOAD TWO APPS IN ORDER TO FACILITATE HIS ABILITY TO DEACTIVATE ONE OF THE CARDS THAT WAS SENT TO ME, ACTIVATE THE OTHER, AND TO SEND ME THE DEBIT CARD I WAS REQUESTING. THE TWO APPS WERE : XXXX XXXX XXXX, AND XXXX XXXX I DID NOT REALIZE THAT THIS GAVE THE PERSON COMPLETE REMOTE CONTROL OF MY PHONE ; I THOUGHT HE WAS ACTUALLY HELPING ME TO RESOLVE MY PROBLEM. THEN HE OPENED MY CHIME APP BY INSTRUCTING ME TO USE MY BIOMETRICS, AND HE ACCESSED THE CHIME " PAY A FRIEND '' FUNCTION. AT THAT POINT HE BEGAN INPUTTING THE AMOUNTS OF MONEY LISTED FROM BOTH MY CHECKING AND MY SAVINGS, TELLING ME THAT HE WAS TRANSFERRING THE MONEY TO THE NEWLY ACTIVATED CARD. HE EVEN PUT IN THE COMMENTS THAT HE WAS ACTIVATING THE NEW CARD AND DEACTIVATING THE OLD CARD, GIVING ME THE IMPRESSION THAT THIS WAS HOW CHIME EMPLOYEES DID THEIR JOB. THEN HE SENT THE MONEY, SAYING THAT THE EMAIL HE WAS SENDING THE MONEY TO WAS THE DEPARTMENT THAT ACTUALLY WOULD BE ACTIVATING MY CARD. 
AT THAT POINT I TOOK A QUICK SCREEEN SHOT OF THE TRANSACTION, TO HAVE MY OWN PAPER TRAIL. HE TOLD ME THAT I WOULD RECEIVE AN EMAIL TELLING ME THAT MY NEW CARD WAS ACTIVATED, AND WHEN I GOT IT MY MONEY WOULD SHOW BACK UP IN MY ACCOUNT. HE SAID IT WOULD ONLY TAKE A FEW MINUTES. HE ASKED ME IF THERE WAS ANYTHING ELSE HE COULD DO FOR ME, THANKED ME FOR BANKING WITH CHIME, AND THEN ENDED THE CALL. IN A COUPLE OF MINUTES, WHEN I DIDN'T SEE THIS EMAIL, I BEGAN TO BE CONCERNED THAT SOMETHING WASN'T RIGHT AND I MAY ACTUALLY HAVE BEEN SCAMMED. THEN I BECAME AFRAID THAT I WOULDN'T SEE MY MONEY AGAIN, SO I INSTANTLY CALLED THE AUTOMATED NUMBER AGAIN HOPING FOR SOME KIND OF HELP, FINDING AN OPTION TO DISPUTE CHARGES. I CHOSE THAT, AND AFTER A LONG LINE OF BEING TRANSFERRED FROM ONE REP TO ANOTHER, I FINALLY SPOKE WITH SOMEONE IN THEIR SPECIALIST DEPARTMENT. HE WAS A GREAT HELP AND REALLY SYMPATHIZED WITH MY PLIGHT. HE HELPED ME TO FILE A LEGITIMATE CLAIM, AFTER A WHOLE DAY OF NOBODY BEING ABLE TO DO THAT. I WOKE UP TO AN EMAIL FROM CHIME DENYING MY CLAIM, STATING THAT THERE WAS NO FRAUD. MY RESPONSE WAS TO TRY EXPLAIN HOW THERE IS NO WAY THIS WASN'T A CLEAR CASE OF FRAUD. THEY OFFERED TO SEND ME THE DETAILS USED IN THEIR DECISION, BUT IT COULD TAKE 10 DAYS. THEY SAID I COULD SUBMIT MORE EVIDENCE IF I HAD ANY. I DID TAKE SCREENSHOTS OF THE COMPLETED TRANSACTION AND THE PHONE NUMBERS AND TIME STAMPS FROM IT ALL. 
THE FAKE WEBSITE ( WHICH IS XXXX ) HAD POPPED UP VERY FIRST IN MY XXXX SEARCH FOR CHIME CUSTOMER SERVICE. IT LEADS TO A FAKE BUSINESS WITH A FAKE ADDRESS, AND AN EMAIL ADDRESS BEING : XXXX. THE PHONE NUMBER ABOVE IS THE ONE I CLICKED ON TO CALL FROM THAT SEARCH, WHICH WAS DONE ON MY PHONE, BUT ON THE WEBSITE THERE HAVE BEEN THREE DIFFERENT PHONE NUMBERS THAT I HAVE SEEN SINCE. THEY ARE XXXX, XXXX AND XXXX.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation