Consumer complaint received 2024-12-11
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Problem using a debit or ATM card
Company: CITIBANK, N.A. (CA)

On XX/XX/year>, it came to my knowledge upon viewing my CITIBANK checking account statement that came in the mail, that my account had been the victim of multiple fraudulent transactions. These fraudulent transactions were debited on XX/XX/year>XXXX  and XX/XX/year>, in the amounts of {$400.00} and {$400.00} ( {$800.00} total ). The description for these transactions were both listed as " ACH Electronic Debit - XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  '', indicating that someone had somehow fraudulently transferred these funds from my checking account to another bank account using ACH electronic debit via a XXXX XXXX card. It was easy to distinguish these transactions immediately as fraud, seeing as no one else has access to my CITIBANK account or card, and the account has never been used for any purchases or account-to-account transfers at all, ever since it was opened. Unfortunately, as I continued to look further back into my checking account history, I discovered three more fraudulent transactions totaling to another {$1200.00}. It was then I realized that there was something very wrong about the blatant lack of any semblance of security checking/monitoring for potential fraudulent activity on my checking account, an account that has had no history of being used for any transactions. CITIBANK had allowed someone to make multiple large, fraudulent transactions on my account without these transactions getting flagged, without raising any suspicion, and without me receiving any sort of notices or warnings. No emails, no texts, no phone calls, no notifications whatsover of these suspiciously large transaction amounts that occurred in a small period of time. Upon knowledge of these fraudulent transactions, I contacted CITIBANK via their cardholder account support number XXXX. I was able to connect and speak to a CITIBANK representative to discuss and report the fraudulent activity on my card. At this time, I also brought to their attention the very concerning lack of fraud security for my account. This representative said that I had to be transferred to a different department, the Fraud Department, in order to proceed with my fraudulent activity report. After some time waiting, I was transferred to a different representative, supposedly from the Fraud Department, who was able to help put a block/hold on my checking account while the fraudulent activity was investigated. I was assured that a fraud case would be opened and an investigation would take place, which I was informed could take some time. After some time, I was informed that in order to access the funds in my account, I would have to open a new account. The representative said they would transfer me to a different department to get it taken care of, which they did. However, when I was transferred to a different representative, after asking them some questions, I discovered that they were located in a remote call center in XXXX. They had given me an XXXX callback number, which I had no way to call since that was international and I am located in the United States. Since this representative was not able to help me, I hung up the call. A few days later, I figured that I would pay a visit to my local ( physical ) CITIBANK branch location to get the matter of the fraud case squared away, since it had just been so difficult to get the proper assistance over a phone call. Since I did not have a prior appointment, I had to sit and wait some time for one of the representatives helping other customers to be available to help me. When it was finally my turn to be helped, I sat down with this CITIBANK representative and explained the situation and the steps I have taken so far, also disclosing to them all that was discussed over the support line phone call. This representative was able to confirm that my account indeed had a block placed on it, but was not able to answer any of my questions pertaining to the fraud concerns. Instead, she simply directed me to call a different phone number to speak to the Fraud Department. I wasn't sure how many different phone numbers there were for each department, and which ones were legitimate, so this was concerning and just added more to all the stress and hassle I was already undergoing. It felt as if CITIBANK was giving me the runaround. I was going on vacation for a few weeks, and I knew that the fraud investigation would take some time, so I figured I would give them at least a month or so before checking in again. On XX/XX/year>, I decided to call the number I was given to reach the Fraud Department to check on the status of my ongoing case, where I had reported multiple fraud transactions debited to my checking account. As soon as I connected and spoke to a representative, I provided them all of my details regarding my account and the fraud case. To my shock, the representative told me that he could not see any ongoing fraud investigation on my account. Someone at CITIBANK dropped the ball big time. Between, having no way to track the status of the fraud case on my own, no representative at CITIBANK knowing exactly what is going on for my account, and no way to access my blocked checking account, it is clear that something is fundamentally flawed with CITIBANK 's process of handling fraud. I will be escalating the issue further and pursuing any appropriate action to get my case resolved.