Consumer complaint received 2024-11-05
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Deposits and withdrawals
Company: UNITED SERVICES AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION (GA)

On XX/XX/XXXX my husband received a fraud alert from USAA that stated two people we did not know had been added to his banking profile. We called in to the main USAA number ( XXXX ) and were told that someone unauthorized had accessed one or more of our accounts, but they would not provide any specific information. The person we initially talked to took a fraud report, but we were cut off when they transferred us. I called in and spoke to another representative who froze our accounts and walked us through changing our PINS and passwords. We were told the fraud department would launch an investigation and would contact us right away. In the meantime we would have no access to our accounts. They said this would take XXXX days. We would only be able to gain information by calling in ( we can not see anything on online banking ). 

On XX/XX/XXXX my husband I seperately talked to XXXX in the fraud department. We were asked a lot of questions about whether we had shared our account information, clicked on potentially fraudulent links, talked to someone other than USAA. We had not done any of those things. When I pressed her for more information, XXXX told me that two people unknown to us had been added to two of our joint accounts. That person had deposited a {$100000.00} check and then sent our wire transers for the same amount to unknown accounts. They were also added to a Savings account but took no action.

When I asked what our liabiity was in this situation she was cagey with me and said it depended on what they found in their investigation. I looked up the information and learned that the bank is responsible unless we authorized the transaction, which we most certainly did not. 

On XXXX I followed up with the fraud department, concerned that the payments I sent out via bill pay for our mortgage and XXXX bills would not be paid. I was assured that those checks had been sent and would be honored. On XXXX I received a notice that our gas bill had not been paid because XXXX was denied the funds. I also received notice of an overdraft for insufficient funds on the account where the fraud was committed. 

Now ( a week later ) all of our accounts are frozen, we have no access to our money, can not pay our bills and USAA has not notified us of the results of their " investigation. '' We have been USAA members for 30 years and our accounts have always been in good standing. We have several checking accounts, a savings account, CD and annuity with them. They also handle our auto insurance. When my husband called in to check the status of the investigation, he was told that they were leaning towards blaming us for the {$100000.00} fraud. 

What doesn't make sense to us : WHY did USAA allow someone to add themselves to my husband 's profile as a relative without contacting us for permission? 
WHY did USAA allow this fraudster to deposit a {$100000.00} bad check in our account and then send out immediate transfers? When we have deposited a large check in the past we have had to wait for funds to clear before being able to access the funds. This is bad business practice on their part. 

After 30 years with USAA, we are being treated like criminals. We can't access our accounts and no one is communicating with us, unless they are trying to trick us into saying something incriminating that makes this our fault. I used to think USAA was a great company, but his experience has changed my mind.