Consumer complaint received 2022-09-09
Company: SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL
State: MD
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Credit reporting
Issue: Incorrect information on your report
Sub-issue: Information belongs to someone else

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX, I received the first Notice of Data Breach letter from XXXX XXXX informing me that the security of my personal and private information was compromised and accessed by an unauthorized third party in a recent data breach. I was not made aware of this security threat until XX/XX/XXXX despite the fact this has been an active investigation first discovered in XX/XX/XXXX. The investigation and review of the involved XXXX systems found that all secure information on their systems including name, date of birth, drivers license number, passport number, financial banking account numbers and Social Security number were exposed. Due to the fact I was not made aware of this until XX/XX/XXXX, I did not have any time to act or prepare for what was to come. One week earlier was when I was hacked as all my secured information was utilized by unauthorized parties. On XX/XX/XXXX, my identity was stolen, and my information was fraudulently misused to electronically withdraw {$10000.00} ( estimated funds ) from my checking account, apply for 5 credit cards/lines of credit and place orders on my behalf using my banking credentials. 

The initial fraud activity began on XX/XX/XXXX, when I noticed unusual activity across 18 unauthorized transactions made using my debit card totaling {$630.00}. I addressed this on-site at my local XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX that same day where my debit card was all that was thought to be affected, so they issued me a new one. This proved to be wrong as my checking account was unlawfully used on XX/XX/XXXX in the form of ACH and electronic bank transfers totaling {$10000.00}. I went back to the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  local branch with whom closed and opened a new checking account after confirming that both my debit and checking account credentials were jeopardized. I did not make or authorize any of the charges in question which were disputed and confirmed in an accurate statement provided following the investigation. The charges related to the fraudulent amount was credited back to my checking account by XX/XX/XXXX after the decision was made that these were not authorized on my behalf. 

I then checked my credit report to see that my SSN and personal information were also compromised and used to unlawfully apply for credit lines and credit cards. There were 4 hard inquiries processed on XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX by unauthorized parties in an attempt to open up a credit card on my behalf. The information disputed are listed below, which appears on my credit report, but do not relate to any transaction ( s ) or applications that I have made or authorized. I have not applied for any lines of credit since XX/XX/XXXX when I bought a home. These 4 hard inquiries have been declined and marked as fraud with each company as I have called to speak with them and ensure a letter be also issued to my credit reporting for accurate information updating and removal of falsified information reported.. 

FTC Report Number : XXXX Credit Card Opened by the Thief Hard Inquiries Requested to Remove as they are the result of identity theft. See Below. 

I have XXXX XXXX  XXXX free membership for a year granted to those affected, so I have been able to remove the hard inquiries reported from XXXX agency only, as the XXXX and XXXX require my own manual handling to remove.

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