Consumer complaint received 2022-08-19
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: NJ
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Mobile or digital wallet
Issue: Fraud or scam

Complaint:
I saw a social media post from someone ( XXXX XXXX ) a well-respected and very prominent professional in the XX/XX/XXXXXXXX and also the US, with a very charming and attractive write-up on the post : " at the moment I am the happiest man in the world. I once again invested {$2.00} within 3 hours, and I had a profit of {$20.00}. Thank you XX/XX/XXXX'' After seeing the post, I reached out to XXXX to get to know more about the service and she introduces herself and mentioned that she is a XX/XX/XXXX in bitcoin XX/XX/XXXX She gives me a quick introduction to the service and presented a few packs of investments. I picked the one with a {$1.00} initial investment with a {$10.00} profit in XXXX hours. 
So, I went back to XXXX XXXX to ask about XXXX to ensure I wasn't falling into a scam. In the beginning, everything seemed very surreal and too promising, but coming from someone very known and successful as XXXX, I believed in him ; he was categorically affirmative by saying that I could trust her and I would even thank him later when I get my funds back. 
Well, I proceeded with a {$1.00} initial investment, and made the transfer via XXXX. XXXX instructed me to take a screenshot of the transfer and send it back to her, in the meanwhile, she asked me to register myself on XX/XX/XXXX, so I could follow up on my balance on the dashboard. 
Three hours later approximately, I received a message on XXXX from XXXX confirming that my profit had been processed. So, I could visualize the {$10.00} profit, but it was PENDING status. 
When I asked XXXX why it was PENDING, she said that I had to pay an additional {$1.00} for the XX/XX/XXXX - Of course, the red flag went up. 
However, I went back to XXXX to confirm if this is the actual process, and once again, he said to trust her and do what she says, and I would be happy in the end. So, I transfer {$1.00} one more time via XXXX After paying the additionalXX/XX/XXXX, the status remains PENDING, I go back to her, and she immediately comes up with a new story. She says that my account type wasXX/XX/XXXX and it can't hold the current balance due to the high bitcoin XX/XX/XXXX And to get my account upgraded would need to make another deposit of {$3.00}. I was utterly lost and started suspecting that XXXX may be involved. XXXX once again tried to calm me down ; he said I needed to be optimistic that things would work out just fine. He also mentioned something that I felt a bid out of place - " Don't forget to share it with other people after receiving your profit back. You know there are many people out there who need this opportunity? '' So, I am running out of savings on the bank account and have only funds on my XX/XX/XXXX XXXX said that I could transfer {$3.00} in bitcoin. 
I was very insecure about the process initially, but as I have always looked up to XXXX 's success, I could not believe that he would put himself in such a messy and dirty situation. 
After a long chat, XXXX convinced me that this would be the last charge and I would have my fund withdrawn soon. So, after making the {$3.00} transfer, she created another story saying that it would take up to 12 hours to complete the updating. 
Today in the morning, when I woke, I checked my XXXX ; there was a message from XXXX " Your account has been updated, you can place a withdraw now ''. I tried to withdraw it didn't allow it. A PENDING message was still popping up. 
Of course, XXXX came up with new charges. So now, I will have to pay more {$3.00} to the crypto revenue, so they can release the payment to my bank account and also skip the payment taxes. I said that was unacceptable and would not make another payment - She mentioned that without paying, I wouldn't be able to withdraw my funds. 
Unfortunately, it took a while to understand that I had been a victim of fraud. However, I firmly believe that XXXX is also involved. He keeps saying that he is working on it, and I need to be patient, but he also stopped replying to my messages. 
The negotiation was discussed via XXXXXX/XX/XXXX 

XX/XX/XXXXXXXXXX/XX/XXXX XXXX page XX/XX/XXXX

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