Consumer complaint received 2020-05-08
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.
State: NC
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement
Sub-issue: Card was charged for something you did not purchase with the card

Complaint:
Dear Madame/Sir, My Chase credit card was fraudulently billed in the amount of {$1200.00}. The charge was dated from XXXX XXXX,  and originated from a Chase merchant ID of *XXXX   XXXX. I did not authorize the transaction and believe it constituted identity theft. I was alerted to this transaction and the potential of identity theft when I discovered that my email account had been spam-bombed, meaning that there were thousands of emails that appeared over a short period of time. Because I knew that this is a potential sign of identity theft, I searched through the emails to find a Chase Alert and, sure enough, found the unauthorized transaction in question. I immediately notified Chase, cancelled my card, and searched through other accounts to look for signs of unauthorized transactions or access. 

I was informed by Chase that the charge was reinstated by a letter dated XX/XX/XXXX. Chase 's investigators claimed that the charge was legitimate because I " ... received benefit from this transaction. '' In a call to Chase 's fraud department, an agent explained that the transaction might have been deemed legitimate because it included information such as my email address, phone number, and address. 

I appealed Chase 's decision in letter to Chase, dated XX/XX/XXXX. In the letter to Chase, I strenuously insisted that this charge was fraudulent in that I did not authorize it, had no foreknowledge of it, and received no benefits from the merchant. I also explained that the personal information that was used with the fraudulent transaction corresponded to an instance of identity theft. I noted that all of the personal information used in the transaction, save for the card number, was easily obtained from public sources or the dark web ( as a result of this ordeal I discovered that my email address does appear on the dark web because of a breach at XXXX dating from XX/XX/XXXX ; see XXXX XXXX XXXX ). 

In the letter to Chase, I explained that the transaction was made via XXXX ( evidenced by the *XXXX  in their statement ). In conducting my own investigation, I retrieved the receipt from the XXXX   website and discovered that the transaction appears to have been manually keyed in the middle of the night, and made to the IT Company of XXXX XXXX. I have no IT company ( Im a XXXX at a XXXX XXXX ). In addition, the services on the receipt list website design consulting, IT consulting, and website consulting, none of which pertain to any services I need or ever authorized. Finally, the merchant address ( XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, AL XXXX ) is not commercial or business address but ( traced via XXXX ) corresponds to an apartment in a complex. Ive had no contact or need for contact with anyone at this address and I have no idea who or what is XXXX XXXX. I also would like to stress that I immediately flagged the unauthorized transaction, reported it, and cancelled my card. 

I also explained in my XX/XX/XXXX letter to Chase that, subsequent to to the initial reinstatement of the charge and failed investigation by Chase Fraud Department, I reported the fraudulent transaction to my local police department. The case number is XXXX, the officer in charge is Deputy XXXX, and the police departments number is XXXX. 

Recently, I received a letter from Chase date XX/XX/XXXX indicated that they have reviewed the claim once more, but resolved that the transaction was valid, holding me responsible for the amounts in the account ( {$1200.00} ). Although I urged them in my XX/XX/XXXX letter to include me ( e.g., gathering of evidence ) as  much as possible, they did not reach out to me in the course of their investigation. 

Because the charge was reinstated as part of billing cycle that ended last month, and we *always* pay the full balance on our credit cards, we've lost the funds under dispute. 

Again, I would like to insist that the charge was unauthorized, and I received no benefits. Chase provided no evidence to the contrary. 

Thank you for your attention.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation