Consumer complaint received 2023-04-26
Company: TRUIST FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: MD
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Funds not handled or disbursed as instructed

Complaint:
XX/XX/2023 I was a recent victim of identity and financial theft while on a spring break trip to XXXX XXXXXXXX Florida from XXXX XXXX XXXX, 2023. My phone was stolen two days before I returned to my home in XXXX XXXX, Maryland. The professional criminals who stole my phone were able to hack into all my accounts ( Truist Personal Checking and my XXXX Account ), maneuver monies out of my Truist account via XXXX and XXXX, ulitamtely defrauding me of my entire life savings, totalling {$5800.00} USD. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, around XXXX, my phone was stolen. I was with my college friends at a restaurant/club ( XXXX XXXX XXXX in XXXX XXXX XXXX and I used my phone at approximately XXXX to call an XXXX to take us back to the XXXX. As soon as the XXXX pulled away, I noticed that my phone was gone. I was upset but, at this point, had no idea that I had lost -- or was about to lose -- -much more than my phone. The next day, XX/XX/XXXX, I filed a police report with the XXXX XXXX police. I reported that my phone had been lost or stolen. I said I did not want to press charges because I did not know that my accounts were being hacked and my money was being drained from my accounts. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, the day I departed XXXX XXXX to return to my home in Maryland, I went to the airport early in the morning and attempted to withdraw funds from my bank account, using my debit card. I still had my driver 's license and debit card with me, as they were in my wallet in my back pocket the night my phone was taken. The ATM machine at the airport alerted me that there were Deficient Funds to execute this transaction. At this point, I became very concerned, as I knew that my balance before I left for spring break exceeded {$5000.00}, including the funds I kept in XXXX. I borrowed money from my buddy at the airport to buy breakfast and, when my mom picked me up In Maryland after I landed, I immediately called a customer service representative at Truist Bank, which is where I keep my Personal Checking Account. My fears were confirmed. I was told that every penny had been drained from my account. I subsequently and immediately initiated a Fraudulent Claims Case ( # XXXX ) via Truists Fraud Department. On XX/XX/XXXX, the next morning, I went into my local branch, in XXXX XXXX, to file a claim. The total amount defrauded through a series of unauthorized transactions was {$5800.00}. I was told the bank would most likely stand behind this, as this was a clear case of fraudulent and unauthorized transactions. 

I I have tried for the past three weeks to work with the Truist Fraudulent Claims Dept to recoup the funds that were stolen from my account. Despite the blatant and documented evidence of fraud, the Truist team continues to assert that all transactions occurring on the two days following the phone theft were authorized. The transactions may have been authorized, but they were not authorized by me. Their denial of responsibility is alarming, egregious, and a complete misrepresentation of the facts. 

I am very frustrated by the lack of transparency and follow-through that has accompanied Truists investigation into this case. Every time I call -- -- and I have called often -- -I am forced to deal with a different customer service agent who does little more than read a vaguely worded explanation/denial prepared by someone else, failing to provide me with credible or specific information that explains their specious denial of fraud. I have been told multiple times that a supervisor will call me back, and I have gotten exactly one call back to date. I have asked for a detailed explanation of the denial, and I have been given nothing more than the words the transactions were authorized. 

This is a clear misrepresentation of justice, and I feel like a pawn in a system that is failing me. I was a victim of identity and financial theft. I am now a victim of a bureaucratic attempt on the part of Truist bank to dismiss my case without due investigation into my claims. I have not been afforded due process under the law. Clearly, I did not authorize the transactions. I also have not been provided with any rationale as to why the claim is being denied. 

I will now outline and document the events that comprise the fraud that led to the defunding of {$5800.00} USD from my accounts : XXXX. {$3000.00} ( {$2900.00} + {$150.00} ) was taken from my Personal Checking account and sent via XXXX by unknown perpetrator XXXX XXXX to unknown perpetrator $ XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX XXXX and XXXX : XXXX XXXX respectively. This is an UNAUTHORIZED transaction. Please see attached Document A and B. 
XXXX. {$2100.00} was sent on XX/XX/XXXX via XXXX from Truist Account to unknown XXXX. This is an UNAUTHORIZED transaction. Please see XXXX XXXX XXXX. 
XXXX. {$560.00} was instant transferred on XX/XX/XXXX at XXXXXXXX XXXX from XXXX to Personal Checking Account ( ... XXXX ) and then exported ( Transfer Amount {$560.00} + Fee of. {$9.00} = {$560.00} ). This was an unauthorized transaction. Please see Document C. 
XXXX. {$120.00} debited from Personal Checking Account. While the Fraud Team determined that a chip was used to make these withdrawals, this is not possible as I was in possession of my bank card and still possess the bank card in question. All debited transactions listed below ( a-g ) are unauthorized. 
{$14.00} XXXX XXXX {$29.00} XXXX {$10.00} XXXX {$24.00} XXXX XXXX {$14.00} XXXX XXXX {$9.00} XXXX XXXX {$9.00} XXXX XXXX {$8.00} XXXX XXXX. The two filed police incident reports ( attached ) further support the claim that fraudulent activity occurred. There are two incident reports on file. I filed the first incident report on XX/XX/2023, reporting phone theft. I did not know that there was identity and monetary theft as well. I was and still am in possession of all other credit and banking cards, as well as my drivers license, as these cards were in my wallet in my back pocket. I filed the second incident report on XX/XX/2023. At this time, I reported that fraudulent withdrawals totaling {$5800.00} USD had been made without my authorization from all my personal accounts. 
XXXX. Unauthorized charges were made on my XXXX XXXX XXXX for {$4000.00} USD. XXXX XXXX determined these charges were not authorized by me, and the money was returned to my account. Please see Document D. 
XXXX. My account continues to be hacked. I closed the original account and opened a new personal checking account, but these criminals are still trying to gain access to my funds. There are multiple failed attempts to withdraw funds from my old account and my new account. Please see Document E. 

It is confounding to me how there is any uncertainty surrounding the fraudulent and criminal nature of these withdrawals and transactions. 

Furthermore, I wish to file a complaint against Truist for its failure to halt these fraudulent transactions while they were occurring. It is the responsibility of Truist to red flag fraud. Truist employs dedicated teams and departments whose expressed function is to stop unauthorized transactions before they cascade to this egregious level. At no point did Truist intervene or alert me to these excessive and questionable withdrawals and transactions. Despite the alarming number of attempted and failed withdrawals from my personal accounts, Truist, at no point in the 48 hours of fraudulent transactions, halted or questioned a single transaction. I have demonstrated no prior history of such outlandish and excessive transference of monies and certainly never depleted my funds. This was and is a clear case of crime and personal hijacking of identity. If fault is to be assigned, Truist must accept some responsibility for a job not done and fraud not noticed. 

The police officer ( XXXX XXXX XXXX of the XXXX XXXX Police XXXX ) I spoke with XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX stated to me that this type of criminal activity has been occurring in XXXX XXXX at the clubs and bars. XXXX XXXX stated that he believes this is a professional ring of criminals and added that hijacking identity and money is their job. He said it is very hard to catch them as they wire money very quickly, often exporting the money out of the country using different IP addresses so it can't be tracked or traced. 

I am respectfully requesting an investigation into this claim. As I mentioned earlier, I am disheartened by Truists lack of coordination and the poor execution that has accompanied the process to date. This is an indisputable case of fraud by what appears to be a professional ring of criminals. To suggest that I voluntarily and willingly wiped out my own accounts through a master-minded transfer of funds via XXXX and XXXX is ludicrous. Furthermore, I have not been provided any rationale or reason for the banks denial of my claim. 

Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to hearing from you with an update.

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