Consumer complaint received 2023-12-04
Company: ASSOCIATED BANC-CORP
State: WI
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Virtual currency
Issue: Fraud or scam

Complaint:
Between XX/XX/2023 and XX/XX/2023, I fell victim to a multi-layered scam operation run by XXXX.tr which involved me making deposits for a total amount of {$30000.00} from my Associated Bank account to fraudulent investment firm ( XXXX ). When determining whats reasonable and fair, we should focus on the issue of liability ; common queries include, but are not limited to, the following ( i ) whether Associated Bank did not take notice of any rule, law, or regulation, and/or possibly missed any material elements of the relevant bylaws or codes of conduct, that may have prevented them from protecting my financial safety ; ( ii ) whether by virtue of Associated Banks custodianship over my funds or by its control over them, they owed a fiduciary duty to the me and if so, whether that duty was breached ; ( iii ) whether Associated Bank promoted the transaction ( s ) in question despite being aware of the nature of the transaction ( s ) in question ( iv ) whether Associated Bank was in compliance with its own policies and procedures ; ( v ) whether Associated Bank owed duties to myself, what the scope of those duties was, and whether Associated Bank did not uphold those duties ; ( vi ) whether Associated Banks conduct was unfair ; and ( vii ) whether Associated Bank has within its power the ability to, and should, compensate me for the harm that has befallen me. Upon identification of such unusual or suspicious activity, it is crucial that the relevant staff member adequately describe the factors making an activity or transaction suspicious, thoroughly depict the extent and nature of this activity and properly communicate to the customer that such activity meets the relevant criteria of fraud. In providing its services to a customer, a financial institution is required by law to exercise the care and skill of a diligent, prudent banker. In this case, this means that the payment service provider should not turn a blind eye to known facts pointing to a real possibility that their customer is being scammed. In other words, Associated Bank must have had special knowledge of what was occurring or been alerted to a real possibility of fraud taking place. The financial institution must have known or reasonably ought to have known that I was dealing with a scammer. Granted, there is room for diversity of view insofar as reasonableness is concerned. Indeed, there is a sense in which the standard of care of the reasonable person involves in its application a subjective element. However, it must be remembered that the correct test is always reasonable care in all circumstances, not average care. The fact that most people behave in a certain way may be good evidence that the conduct is reasonable, but this is not necessarily the case. Although reasonableness is a very fluid concept, all of the evidence suggests that Associated Bank did not foresee the fraud and disregarded even the most obvious dangers in this respect. 

Situations do tend to repeat themselves and it is advisable to examine previous outcomes to see how the standard of the reasonable person should be applied, and that lessons can be learnt from the errors of the past.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation