Consumer complaint received 2024-10-17
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Problem using a debit or ATM card
Company: UNITED SERVICES AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION (TX)

After being members of USAA collectively for a total of 35 years of XXXX XXXX/veteran service ( 15 years for myself and 20 years for my husband ) we entrusted USAA to resolve erroneous/fraudulent transactions made from our joint checking account totaling {$15000.00}. While traveling in XXXX and after returning to the U.S. to close on our home, our account was hacked by " XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX '' and endured six transactions : {$210.00} on XX/XX/XXXX {$36.00} on XX/XX/XXXX {$58.00} on XX/XX/XXXX {$32.00} on XX/XX/XXXX {$560.00} on XXXX {$660.00} on XXXX Upon arriving back stateside on XXXX XXXX, we immediately locked our cards while we landed as we saw the two larger fraudulent transactions ( {$560.00} and {$660.00} ) pending, which prompted us to analyze our account and found the other four unrecognizable/fraudulent transactions that had gone through without our notice. After locking our account, we made a call to USAA around XXXX XXXX to report the fraudulent activity and temporarily have our cards unlocked in order for us to withdraw cash in order to have monetary means to survive off until we received our new debit cards. The USAA agent substantiated that these were fraudulent charges and even brought it to our attention that the false merchant changed their name and used both debit card numbers in order to be more discreet. She stayed on the phone with me as I made cash withdrawals from three separate ATMs ( in Texas ) and immediately locked our accounts again and issued the new debit cards. Around three business days later, USAA debited the full amount of all six fraudulent transactions back into our account. A couple weeks later, we received a notice that the fraudulent activity was not warranted and that USAA would retrieve the {$1500.00} back at a later date, which ended up being XXXX XXXX. On XXXX XXXX, we called back to speak to another USAA representative to try to rectify the situation again and he informed us that the scammers attempted a total of nine transactions in our account, one transaction even totaling {$10000.00}! This was brand new news to us as USAA never reported this to us or given us fraud alerts. We had gone above and beyond by submitting substantial evidence to include : a rideshare receipt, airline tickets, hotel receipt, pictures of the ATM machines that we utilized to withdraw the cash in Texas while on the phone with USAA, all to prove that we were stateside and could not possibly be making transactions in XXXX at that time. Especially in large lump sums that were detrimental to our finances while closing on our home ( close date XXXX XXXX ) ; moreover, making transactions larger than the amounts that we possessed. Our checking account even proved the electronic transactions being withdrawn from ATM machines in Texas ( see attachment labeled as XX/XX/XXXX XXXX : {$200.00}, XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX ) as the fraudulent activity was simultaneously pending from our account and processed on XX/XX/XXXX after USAA froze our account. Despite doing our due diligence to prove sincerity of us being victims of fraud, USAA denied us proper investigation not once, but twice and are refusing to reimburse us.