Consumer complaint received 2022-08-03
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: CA
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Domestic (US) money transfer
Issue: Fraud or scam

Complaint:
On the morning of XX/XX/2022, my husband went to the citibank.com website to check for an automatic deposit that we were expecting, not knowing at the time that our computer had been hacked and the website cloned. The website had an alert with a red banner that stated our accounts had been frozen and to call XXXX ext. XXXX - a number we later learned was that of a hacker/scammer. Terrified by this alert, we immediately called the number and spoke with someone named XXXX who told us that our money was safe. My husband was asked to give information, which he gave, and he was reassured that the accounts were safe and protected at Citibank. 

On XX/XX/XXXX early morning, my husband checked our accounts and noticed that money had been transferred from our checking account and one of our savings accounts and put into a second savings account. He also noticed that there were two separate withdraws of {$99000.00} and an {$37000.00} from the second savings account. At XXXX AM, I called XXXX. I was told by XXXX that the accounts were safe, but we weren't satisfied with her response as we already knew money had been transferred out, so I asked to speak with a supervisor. I was referred to XXXX at XXXX who I called and was told the money would be returned in 2 - 3 hours. 

There were several back and forth calls with XXXX throughout the day and we were continuously assured that the money would be returned within a specific timeframe ( i.e., another 2 hours, another 4 hours, etc. ). 

On XX/XX/XXXX I called XXXX again and this is when I began to realize that something was not right. We then decided to call the Citibank Fraud department using the number on the back of our credit card. We were finally speaking with a legitimate Citibank representative who informed us that we were the victim of a scam and that the money was taken as two unauthorized wire transfers. It took us hours and hours trying to get to the correct department and by the time we spoke with the correct person in was late in the evening. We were advised of the following : file a police report, go to the bank and alert the bank manager, have our computer scrubbed, and to immediately change all of our passwords. 

On XX/XX/XXXX early in the morning, my husband filed a report at the police department, we then went to the bank, spoke with the manager and received new debit cards, took our computer in to be scrubbed, and changed all of our passwords as instructed by the fraud department. 

Within approximately a week, {$99000.00} ( less a {$25.00} charge ) was returned to our savings account, but there no information on when the remaining {$37000.00} would be returned. 
Over the next several days/weeks we continued to try to reach someone who was working on our case, but we were unsuccessful - many times waiting on hold for over 2 hours at a time. We also continue to check in with the bank manager but there were no updates. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, we hand delivered a letter to the Citibank manager, advising them again that our account was subject to an authorized transfer of {$37000.00} as required by the EFTA, as implementation of Reg E. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, a letter was sent to us from Citibank Client Services notifying us that they had completed their research regarding our request for a wire recall, but that the Beneficiary bank stated that they were unable to return the funds. As this was an unauthorized wire transfer, we are most dissatisfied by this and are hoping for a resolution. Thank you.

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