Consumer complaint received 2023-02-21
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: MI
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Closing an account
Sub-issue: Can't close your account

Complaint:
On XX/XX/2023 I began receiving emails from Bank of America about them processing my online application for a checking account. I only have a credit card with BOA and did not fill out any online application for a checking account. After making a phone call to the bank, I decided it best to go to the local branch. I arrived at the local branch, and they confirmed that someone had applied online with my SS #, an old address and an old last name. The employee there worked with me to get their fraud department on the phone, confirm my identity and report the identity theft, tell them the email was a fake, the name was old, and the address was old and that I did not apply for this account. I was told I would receive update information via mail while they investigated. 

On XX/XX/2023 I received a packet from BOA asking me to send them personal information, including a copy of my driver 's license and a social security statement. WHAT?? Why on earth would I need to send in this kind of information to them when THEY opened an account in my name with information that didn't even match my current information to begin with?? I need them to close the account! They need more information from the victim to close the account than they took to open it? 

There was no email confirmation request to verify that I was requesting this account be open, no phone call to me, nothing, they just opened an account with a bs email, and old last name and address and then expect me to send them the information they should have asked the person opening the account to provide!

Days later when I logged into my cc profile to make sure everything looked ok there, I noticed ( even after reporting the checking account as fraudulent ), they had attached the checking account to my real profile.

I called the fraud department again, extremely frustrated and telling them all they did wrong, I told them I needed the case worker assigned to this case to call me asap and nothing, no return call. After checking again, I noticed they even attached the fake email to my real profile, even after being reported as a fake! I can't even go into my profile and remove the fake email address! Bank of America needs to be investigated. There is no reason in today 's day and age that their fraud system isn't picking up these fake emails, old names and addresses. Someone from that bank should have been alerted and made sure I was contacted or that someone was made to come into the branch to complete the request.

They're allowing people to open bank accounts with little to no verification. They tried telling me that they require someone come into the local branch with two forms of identification, LIEs. I had a friend actually go online and open an account in her name in less than 10 minutes. No ID verification.

Twice on the phone and in the branch, they tried blaming it on other companies ' data breaches. Well, that data would be worthless if BOA was doing their job, one even a grade schooler could do better. SS numbers are stolen, they are not the holy grail. Why wasn't my primary email used as a verification tool? Why didn't they call my primary phone number? Why didn't they require a copy of my driver 's license and live photo be uploaded?

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 non-monetary relief