Consumer complaint received 2023-08-30
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: NJ
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Domestic (US) money transfer
Issue: Fraud or scam

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX I received a suspicious or obviously malicious email. I forwarded it to XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ) for analysis. 
The best way to report this was to simply forward the suspected phishing email to XXXX Forwarding suspected phishing emails to XXXX contributes to fraud and crime prevention services to protect users and track criminal activity. By submitting information to XXXX I give XXXX permission to save the email in its entirety for these purposes. All data is handled responsibly and under contract with the XXXX vetted member community. View the full XXXX privacy policy here XXXX XXXX XXXX  In XXXX, Congress expanded the FTC Act to not only prohibit unfair methods of competition but to also prohibit unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce to allow the FTC to directly protect consumers. See 15 U.S.C. 45 ( a ) ( Section 5 of the FTC Act ). These procedures provide information regarding the applicability of Section 5 of the FTC Act. In XXXX, Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Act. Section 1036 of the Dodd-Frank Act prohibits a covered person1 from engaging in unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices ( Dodd-Frank UDAAP ). See 12 U.S.C. 5536. Section 1031 of the Dodd-Frank Act provides authority to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ( CFPB ) to promulgate rules identifying such acts or practices as unfair, deceptive, or abusive in connection with consumer financial products and services generally. See 12 U.S.C. 5531. These procedures also provide information regarding Sections 1031 and 1036 of the Dodd-Frank Act.2 The legal standards for unfair and deceptive under Section 5 of the FTC Act and the Dodd-Frank Act are substantially similar. Further, the legal standards for unfair, deceptive, or abusive are independent of each other. Depending on the facts, an act or practice may be unfair or deceptive or abusive or any combination of the three, or not constitute a violation. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I recieved an email with Social Security logo on the letterhead. Beneath the logo was a XXXX XXXX. : XXXX. Then the word Alert! then my email address. Then, in the body of the letter it starts : " This is to notify you that your Social Security Number has been terminated due to suspicious activities found during our investigation. You should not use this number for any future transactions. '' Then it says : ( To know the reason of the termination in details ) call toll free number XXXX ( XXXX ) XXXX and I did. A XXXX XXXX XXXX answered my phone call. He transferred me to a XXXX XXXX XXXX. He asked me did I have a bank account. I said yes. He said he needed me to get XXXX remote desktop application from the XXXX store and upload to my XXXX. I did. He wire transferred the moneys in question. I am showing in this complaint - that the domestic wire transfer of XXXX from my Citibank 's personal checking account was for {$5700.00} plus {$25.00} bank wire fee, along with {$500.00} XXXX transfer to an XXXX XXXX at XXXX by a XXXX XXXX at XXXX ( XXXX ) XXXX were acts or practices that are consumer-oriented, and have a White Collar Crime flavor that was misleading in a material respect, ( The SSA letter ) and that I am the victim and was injured as a result of this deception. The {$5700.00} was wired to XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX routing # XXXX and to account XXXX. Citibank 's XXXX ; Citibank 's General Counsel and several others has been informed but to no avail. The New York Attorney General also has the power to enjoin deceptive consumer practices or to initiate enforcement actions against any person or business that engages in deceptive acts or practices or false advertising. The harm totals {$6200.00} which needs to be returned to my Citibank checking account.

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