Consumer complaint received 2024-05-23
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement — Credit card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase on your statement
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY (NY)

I received an XXXX gift card for XXXX for {$50.00} and bought a few songs earlier this year ; there was {$46.00} dollars left on the account. A few weeks ago, I noticed that the balance disappeared, so I used XXXX to search for the customer service number to see what the issue was from my home in XXXX, NY. 

I called the number that appeared on the XXXX search, a representative picked up the phone, and notified me that my account had been hacked. The representative, going by the name XXXX, said that hackers were using my identity to purchase illegal items on the Dark Web. These items included XXXX computers, stolen gift cards, cryptocurrency, XXXX XXXXXXXX, XXXX, fiberoptic cables, and XXXX XXXX that were being XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX 

XXXX repeatedly told me that all my XXXX  devices were hacked, that the hackers could be listening to my communications, so I had to refrain from telling anyone about the situation. XXXX emphasized the danger that I would put myself and loved ones in by discussing the case out loud. 

To resolve the issue, I was instructed to purchase gift cards from specific vendors so that they could use them offset the purchases made on the dark web. XXXX described the process in a very technical way to appear legitimate and sent several messages to my phone to verify that she worked for XXXX. These messages included the ending digits of my credit cards, which convinced me that I was indeed speaking with an XXXX representative. 

These vendors included gift cards from XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX. She insisted that I make the purchases in quantities of {$500.00} but limited each gift card from {$250.00} at XXXX. XXXX would ask me to scratch the back of the card and send a screenshot of the card as well as the receipts from the purchase. 

XXXX initiated contact with XXXX phone calls over the next week to ensure that I was following her instructions. We spent XXXX hours, XXXX minutes, and XXXX seconds communicating ; that is approximately XXXX hours and XXXX minutes. XXXX sent numerous text messages to appear as authentications of the XXXX company and stayed on the phone with me constantly to provide support. She gave positive reinforcement about the good that I was doing as well as the threats my family and I faced if I chose not to continue. 

In terms of positive reinforcement, she insisted that I would be reimbursed for the expenses on the credit card as well as any expenses for food, gas, lodgings, etc. They also said that I would be compensated for the days that I missed out on work and provided additional incentives with XXXX new XXXX  and an XXXX XXXX because of my additional effort on behalf of XXXX. 

XXXX worked very hard to gain my trust by communicating frequently, asking questions about my life, discussing aspects of her fake identity to seem relatable, and providing encouragement when needed. She promised to provide different forms of verification about the work we were doing to my employers, which included many details about office life at XXXX, family life, work meetings, and other details to appear legitimate. 
Towards the end of the week ( XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX ), I had to travel to XXXX for personal reasons and XXXX pressured me to continue the process in cities such as XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX. Again, I was promised reimbursement for food, lodgings, gas, etc. 

Sensing my frustration about consistently purchasing gift cards, XXXX pretended to offer advice on making investments into different portfolios with the money I would receive as compensation. She discussed how she could speak with the Department of Treasury to see if they would cover the purchase of gold bars and store them in a federal facility ; using the investigation as a cover for how she would get them to approve it. 

Once I purchased the gold, she instructed me XXXX XXXX to XXXX, NY on XX/XX/XXXX to deliver said gold to someone impersonating a employee of the Treasury Department at XXXX XXXX XXXX. The driver drove a red XXXX with and New Jersey license plate that ended in XXXX I believe. 

Again, XXXX was with me the whole time to provide consistent positive reinforcement about the good that I was doing as well as the threats that we faced if I chose not to continue with the various assignments. To keep me from notifying my financial institution, she repeatedly told me that they would charge {$600.00} for every transaction in the investigation and that I would have to pay for it because XXXX would not cover it. 

I realized that it was a scam once I returned from delivering the gold and spoke with my bank against XXXX wishes. During our last call, she attempted to get my family members to give me money, which I refused as well. Once the driver stole the gold and I discovered that I had been scammed, the total amount that was fraudulently on my credit cards was {$78000.00}.