Consumer complaint received 2018-08-22
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: CA
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Problem with a lender or other company charging your account
Sub-issue: Transaction was not authorized

Complaint:
Someone hacked into my Bank of America bank account, signed up to use the service XXXX ( which is apparently a partner of the bank ), and transferred the entire contents of my savings account out of my bank account within hours. I have reached out to Bank of America multiple times to try to have the stolen money returned to me, without success. Bank of Americas representatives have been unhelpful, have refused to provide me with necessary information to try to make my case to them to get my money refunded ( since they insist that the burden is on me to do so ), and have sent me nonsensical letters without any information about how I can continue to seek recourse. 

On XX/XX/2018, I received a text notification with a passcode for logging into my bank account. I had not requested the passcode, but I thought that maybe this was the bank telling me to log into my account. When I did so, I noticed that money was being sent out of my account. I continued to receive text messages with passcodes that I hadnt requested from the bank. 

I tried to call the bank right away, but I wasnt able to get through to anyone since it was the weekend. By the time I was able to connect with an actual person at the bank, my money was gone. In fact, who ever was sending my money out of my bank account continued to try to send additional funds out of my account, even after it had been emptied. I found out that someone had also changed the email address affiliated with my account. I hadnt been getting any notifications from the bank by email, if any were sent. I subsequently changed my log-in ID and passcode because of this. 

I dont know how anyone got my personal information, or how they were able to get into my online banking. I did not sign up for the XXXX online service, someone else did so using my information and then used it to send my money out of my account instantly. I didnt even know what XXXX was before this happened. 

I tried to work with the bank to get my money refunded since it had been stolen from me. First, Bank of America accused me of lying and moving the money myself. Theyve told me that, unless I have evidence to prove otherwise, it means that I must have been the one that sent the money out of my account. 

Bank of America told me that since I have two-factor authorization to log into my account, that no one else could have moved the money. But, apparently someone was able to get into my bank account and set up a XXXX account, as well as change the email address associated with the account, so it seems entirely possible that someone knew how to move my money. 

Also, when I was talking with a Bank of America claims person, she told me that someone had called impersonating me and saying that I was waiting for money to be transferred from my boyfriend XXXX XXXX into my account. I told the claims person that this was not me, and asked her to have the fraud department listen to the tape and compare voices to show it was not me. I do not have a boyfriend named XXXX XXXX, and do not know anyone by this name. I asked the claims person for a copy of this recording, but she refused to provide it, saying wed have to subpoena it to get any records from them. 

The claims person I spoke with told me she would resubmit my claim to the fraud department, but that the fraud department was planning to reject my claim, and unless I provided new evidence, they were going to continue to deny my claim. I asked her how I could have any new evidence, when I did not know how someone hacked into my account, and when the bank is the one in possession of all the information. I asked about any logs showing calls, texts, online log-ins, etc. She refused to provide me with information. I do not know how I am supposed to prove that I did not drain my own bank account, when the bank is the one that has all the information/evidence, as well as all the knowledge about how their systems work. 

The claims person I spoke with provided no helpful information or way to follow-up, but told me there was a letter in the mail from the fraud department about the reason for their denial of my claim. I specifically asked whether the letter would contain details about how to escalate my complaint, and she said there would be. 

I finally received the letter from the fraud department. This added insult to a process riddled with injury. Not only that, but I am less clear than ever about why the bank is denying my claim and how I can follow up to try to make this right. The letter states : We are unable to approve your claim because the claim wasnt received within the required time period. Under the laws governing electronic transactions, consumers have one year from the date of an unauthorized transaction to recover any losses. Your claim states the date of the unauthorized transaction was XX/XX/2018. Your claim was filed on XX/XX/2018, more than one year following the date of the unauthorized transaction. As a result were respectfully denying your claim. 

The bank denied me on the basis that I filed my complaint on the SAME DAY that the fraud occurred. Clearly, they bank is cursorily denying my claim and not even giving me the courtesy of paying ANY level of attention to my claim. This may not be an important issue to Bank of America, but these people stole all my savings and this is incredibly important to me. 

I have been the victim of identity theft. Since this happened, Ive been trying to take steps to protect myself. I have filed a police report, filed a complaint with the FBI online, and have been trying to work with the credit agencies to add extra protection measures. 

I plan to call the Bank of America fraud department again to try to find out how to keep pleading my case, but I have no confidence that anyone at the bank will help me based on their terrible treatment of me so far.

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