Consumer complaint received 2021-07-18
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — Domestic (US) money transfer
Issue: Fraud or scam — 
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION (CA)

On Saturday, XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX, I received an alert message from Bank of America asking me to verify a transaction at a XXXX in XXXX Texas . I replied that the transaction was not me, and they replied that they would call me from the following number : XXXX. Beginning at XXXX, I received a series of calls from that number, appearing on my phone as XXXX. On the sixth call, I picked up. The person on the other line claimed to be a representative of BoA 's fraud department. He explained that there were several disputed charges on my account and wanted me to verify that they were not me. He first had me verify the last four digits of my card and my account balances - he had all the correct information, including my full card number and the authorization code, so I believed he was a legitimate representative of my bank. I also received another text message with a verification code which he confirmed. We then went through the disputed charges. The first was the XXXX charge, which I said was not me. The second charge was at a gas station in XXXX, which I also confirmed was not me. He said the third charge was a direct deposit to a XXXX XXXX  account for {$3500.00}. I confirmed that I had not authorized any such charge. He said that to reverse the charge, I would need to transfer money to my email account from my savings using XXXX. He said the funds would be back in my account within 24 hours and that he would call me the following day to verify. I went along with the transfer and receive a confirmation of the transfer from XXXX XXXX  to my email. I had started to suspect I was being scammed, and just as the transfer went through I asked the person on the phone if there was any way to verify whether he really was with Bank of America and that the funds really would be returned to me. He then became offended and said I didn't know how hard he worked and how much it hurt him when customers didn't trust him, and hung up on me. I changed my passcode and login information and locked my debit card immediately and called the official Bank of America number after to report this. The representative I reached began filing a claim for me. She then said she would transfer me to the fraud department, but when she did, I only received a recorded message before the call was dropped. I called back first thing this morning ( Sunday, XX/XX/XXXX ) and refiled the claim with a fraud claims representative named XXXX, who told me it would take 10-90 days for the claim to process and that I was unlikely to receive a refund, because I had authorized the transfer myself. I am furious, as I was tricked into making this transfer because my bank did not adequately protect my information. The scammers were able to impersonate the bank and to use my account information to appear legitimate. I tried to reach XXXX XXXX  to get them to close the fraudulent account that the scammers opened using my email address, but their fraud department is closed on Sundays, so I will be contacting them first thing tomorrow to see if there is any way they can remit my funds and/or close that account and assure me that it will not be used for further scams. There seem to be woefully inadequate institutional protections for fraudulent wire transfers via XXXX, and I am frustrated that I have been given no support from my bank, from XXXX, or from XXXX, or indeed any assurance that my money will be returned, even though according to my research this scam appears to be VERY common. I will be speaking to the press and a lawyer about possible options for recourse. I sincerely appreciate any help or guidance the CFPB can offer.