Consumer complaint received 2021-12-23
Company: JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.
State: OR
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Other banking product or service
Issue: Problem with a lender or other company charging your account
Sub-issue: Transaction was not authorized

Complaint:
Re : Chase Claim # XXXX ( NOTE : the referenced attachments are attached ( but not numbered ) and all of this and the attachments have been sent to Chase via my local branch and their fraud line. They responded " As we discussed and agreed, no action will be taken ; this inquiry is now resolved. '' However, Federal regulations require that Chase pay this : https : //www.consumerfinance.gov/compliance/compliance-resources/deposit-accounts-resources/electronic-fund-transfers/electronic-fund-transfers-faqs/ ) Following is a summary of the events which led to {$10000.00} being fraudulently taken from my Chase business checking account. I request that these funds be restored to my account # XXXX immediately while you pursue your investigation. 

XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ) XXXX Tuesday XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX XXXX Pacific Time I received a fraud alert from chase at XXXX digit code XXXX saying they had declined a {$600.00} charge to my debit card at XXXX XXXX. I indicated that this was not me, so the card was closed and a new one is on its way. See Exhibits XXXX and XXXX. 

Wednesday XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX PM Pacific Time I received another fraud alert and did not recognize at the time that it was coming from a private phone number, the number was XXXX XXXX XXXX. See Exhibits XXXX and XXXX which are screenshots of those texts. 

Initially, I thought they were questioning the {$5000.00} payment I had made the same day on my XXXX XXXX credit card. So initially I said yes that {$5000.00} transaction was valid. However, that payment had not yet posted to my checking account so I immediately responded no. 

I was contacted minutes later by a phone call masked as the Chase customer service line at XXXX. The man said his name was XXXX XXXX, gave me a badge number ( which I now know you dont have ), that he was based out of the XXXX office of Chase, and that it appeared someone named XXXX XXXX had tried to make that charge through their XXXX account. 

Interestingly, he knew about the declined transaction the day before at XXXX so I'm wondering if he actually was responsible for that also. 

He told me that these transactions were done through the XXXX app and that as a result I would need to send the funds back to myself through XXXX for them to be reversed. This seemed very odd to me but he kept reassuring me that the funds were FDIC insured and that this was protocol. 

Even though I had XXXX accounts in my own name in the XXXX app already he made me set up another one using just my first XXXX initials and my cell number with no email. My radar was up as I had never heard of anything like this before. ( In retrospect I wish I had stopped right then. ) He wanted me to wait for a text message saying that my account was set up which is attached as Exhibit XXXX. 

Meanwhile another text message fraud alert came through saying {$2000.00} was trying to be sent to someone named XXXX XXXX. He brushed that off as saying it was another fraudulent message. 

I thought it was strange because on the screen it indicated then I was registered as XXXX which you can see at the top of exhibit XXXX. 

He waited on the line until the first {$5000.00} transaction to my new XXXX account had completed. See exhibit XXXX and XXXX. 

He gave me a story about how the system was resetting at XXXX PM XXXXacific and then he would have to call me back then to take care of the next in the series of fraudulent transactions and told me that there were others pending for as much as {$15000.00}. 

He called me again at XXXX PM and I had meanwhile moved my funds from checking to savings to avoid any further fraud. I said it was strange that he was now calling from a Michigan phone number an he gave an excuse about calling from his direct extension. When I looked back after the fact, I discovered that that number he called from was the same one the initial text came from that started this whole process. I suspect he's doing this with other customers as well. 

He wanted to initiate another {$5000.00} transaction to a XXXX XXXX account but I did not have enough to cover {$5000.00} in my checking. He convinced me to move XXXX back into my checking to complete this transaction but because of that being moved back and forth so quickly it did not go through right away. You will notice on exhibit XXXX that it shows it hasn't been processed yet ( it was eventually ) and it also shows that I'm now registered as someone named XXXX which I also asked him about. He said that was a different supervisor for a different type of bank. Also XXXX. 

As soon as these transactions were completed they disconnected my account from the accounts to which the funds were diverted as you will see in the screenshots of the text messages labeled XXXX, XXXX, XXXX and XXXX. 

It wasn't until XXXX XXXX XX/XX/XXXX when I called Chase business customer service myself that I found out from your representative XXXX that all of this was a big huge scam. That is why I am sending you this documentation so that we can not only restore my funds but keep any other customers from falling prey to this scheme.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation