Consumer complaint received 2019-01-29
Company: TD BANK US HOLDING COMPANY
State: NY
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Problem with a lender or other company charging your account
Sub-issue: Transaction was not authorized

Complaint:
I am writing because I would like to understand how TD Bank enabled someone to steal {$14000.00} from me between XX/XX/2019 to XX/XX/2019 through 26 transactions without once alerting me to possible fraud ( total theft attempted was {$16000.00} but I was able to have the 27th transaction stopped upon my own discovery of the fraud ). Further, TD Banks fraud department refuses to acknowledge that there was debit card fraud with respect to my account. 

On Thursday XX/XX/2019, I attempted to use my TD Bank debit card. I punched in my PIN in several attempts but was told by the ATM that the PIN was incorrect. I went to my local TD Bank branch the following day, Friday XX/XX/2019, to have my PIN reset to find out that I only had {$15.00} in my account. I had no idea how this could be, I had checked my balance 2 weeks earlier which showed a nearly $ 17k balance. 

At my request, the bank teller looked up my account and we saw that over the course of 2 days, beginning XX/XX/2019, a thief had managed to drain the my bank account - transactions that included ATM withdrawals, debit card and POS transactions ... the majority of which took place in Massachusetts. My home address is in New York. I have not traveled to MA in the past year and was still in physical possession of my debit card. 

The thief was able to make multiple ATM withdrawals of over {$700.00} within the same day. I have never taken more than {$150.00} out of my account via ATM. How was this not flagged as being fraudulent or suspicious? 

The thief used my debit card to make multiple purchases, what appears to have been both physical and electronic purchases. The thief was able to make multiple payments of over {$2000.00} via XXXX and pay what appears to be their electricity/gas bill ( deduced from the name of the vendor that appeared on my statement ). I have never made any purchases using my debit card, not even once. Once again, how did this not get flagged by TD Bank as being fraudulent?! 

I would really like to understand how none of the above got flagged by TD Bank as being fraudulent. Over 2 days, transactions totaling almost {$17000.00} hit my account, largely in MA and I was never once notified by TD Bank about the suspicious activity. I was not alerted via email, text or call. Meanwhile, the fraudulent transaction amounts were large, made within a short period, out of state, and inconsistent with my previous transaction history. The only reason I was alerted to the fraud was because I had tried to take money out of my own account. 

What did TD Bank do, if anything, to protect my account? Could theft of this magnitude have been prevented had the bank been diligent in monitoring customer accounts? I believe that someone was able to somehow obtain my debit card number and make copies of my card. 

I have offered to share my phone records, credit card records, work records to prove that the transactions on my account are fraudulent and that I could not have been in MA using my debit card but I have never once been contacted by the TD Bank fraud team during their investigations. It appears that the thief has attempted to make additional fraudulent transactions since the fraud had been reported. I have seen these attempts show up in my pending transactions. However this does not seem to have been considered in TD Bank 's fraud " investigations '' either. 

If the bank truly worked with the authorities they would find that I was not the person executing the disputed transactions. In New York, theft of this magnitude is considered Grand Larceny in the 3rd Degree. TD Bank has done nothing to help catch this felon.

Total theft : ( 1 ) {$4800.00} of ATM withdrawals ( 7 withdrawals total in MA, all within 2 days ) ( 2 ) {$9200.00} of debit card and POS transactions ( all within 2 days ) : XXXX XXXX XXXX - MA {$500.00} XXXX XXXX {$530.00} XXXX XXXX XXXX {$920.00} XXXX  XXXX  XXXX XXXX XXXX MA {$310.00} XXXX   XXXX {$70.00} XXXX XXXX XXXX {$100.00} XXXX {$620.00} XXXX XXXX {$8.00} XXXX  XXXX XXXX {$150.00} XXXX XXXX {$55.00} XXXX XXXX {$600.00} XXXX XXXX XXXX {$490.00} XXXX XXXX {$500.00} XXXX XXXX {$2000.00} XXXX XXXX XXXX {$530.00} XXXX  {$650.00} XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX {$470.00} XXXX XXXX XXXX {$530.00} XXXX  XXXX {$86.00} I have a full time job where I have to work late, I don't have all day to be calling companies who have accepted fraudulent payments ... is it too much to expect a certain level of protection, trust and service from TD Bank? 

I am happy to share further information if needed including bank transcript with fraudulent transactions, police report incident number.

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief