Consumer complaint received 2024-05-14
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — Domestic (US) money transfer
Issue: Fraud or scam — 
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION (FL)

XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX # XXXX, XXXX XXXX, FL XXXX United States The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ( CFPB ) XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, Washington , DC XXXX XX/XX/year> WITHOUT PREJUDICE Subject : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX to CFPB. 
Case Reference : XXXX Upon examining the response from BoA on XX/XX/year>, I have concluded that it is inadequate and unjust. 
The investigation process appears to be biased against me as the victim, and lacks knowledge of good industry practices and compassion towards me as a customer. 
Your response seems to be based on a flawed understanding of my situation, and crucial information that contradicts your position. The decision made in relation to the issue I raised did not consider my vulnerability as a victim of financial crime and BoA 's responsibility to protect its clients from such crimes. 
Financial institutions have a duty to conduct business with due skill, care, and diligence, and BoA 's subpar intervention in my case clearly falls short of reasonable business conduct. 
I am not looking for a debate about what could have been done, but rather a transparent, evidence-based investigation that considers my vulnerability, the sophistication of the scam, the shortcomings of XXXX to identify fraudulent companies, and BoA 's failure to identify suspicious transactions in a timely manner. 
When determining what is reasonable and fair, we should focus on the issue of liability and consider the following common queries : whether BoA neglected any rule, law, or regulation that may have prevented them from protecting my financial safety ; whether they owed a fiduciary duty to me and breached it ; whether they promoted the questionable transaction despite being aware of its nature ; whether they were in compliance with their own policies and procedures ; whether they owed duties to me, the scope of those duties, and whether they failed to uphold them ; whether their conduct was unfair ; and whether they have the ability and should compensate me for the harm that has occurred. 
Furthermore, it is completely preposterous that Bank of America stated in their statement that they would be happy to provide me with a provisional credit for the transactions of {$6.00} and {$11.00}. If I had known about the risks, which Bank of America never informed me about, I never would have sent the money. 

Bank of America would have seen that this is a fraud if they had questioned me further at the time and asked how I had originally gotten in touch with this fraudster. 
These kinds of frauds, in my opinion, happen on a daily basis, and financial institutions are more aware than their clients that this might happen to them. 
I hope that you will take these key points into account to reach a fair outcome. 

BoA had sufficient information available to justify and had the capability of stopping these payments altogether, but chose not to. 
XXXX. Educate clients : Banks can provide educational resources to their clients to help them identify and avoid scams. 
This can include tips on how to recognize phishing emails, how to protect personal information, and how to avoid fraudulent investment schemes. 
XXXX. Implement security measures : Banks should have robust security measures in place, such as multi-factor authentication, to prevent unauthorized access to client accounts. They should also regularly monitor client accounts for any suspicious activity and notify clients immediately if any suspicious activity is detected. 
XXXX. Increase fraud detection : Banks should invest in advanced fraud detection systems to detect and prevent scams. This can include using artificial intelligence and machine learning to identify patterns of fraudulent activity. 
XXXX. Collaborate with law enforcement : Banks can work with law enforcement agencies to identify and prosecute scammers. They can also share information about scams to help prevent future incidents. 
XXXX. Provide immediate assistance : In the event that a client falls victim to a scam, banks should provide immediate assistance to help mitigate the impact. This can include freezing accounts, cancelling transactions, and providing financial support to clients. 
Misplaced Accountability : Victims of scams are often limited in their ability to react, as they instinctively and immediately respond to the demands of the perpetrator. It can be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to consciously refrain from such reactions. Giving off signals that make us vulnerable to these schemes is not the same as being grossly negligent, given the increasingly sophisticated nature of scams that are pervasive in society. 
In my case, personal circumstances made me particularly vulnerable during the victimization period, as I was financially illiterate and inexperienced in the finance sector. This made me a prime target for criminal enterprises in this field. Since then, I have gained a greater understanding of the scope and nature of these crimes and the operations of the financial services sector on an international level. 
Financial institutions are well aware of the risks posed by these crimes to their clients, who may have limited knowledge of these dangers. It is important to note that victims of scams are not individuals who have made poor investment decisions, but rather individuals who have been tricked, lied to, deceived, and emotionally manipulated. Sophisticated and aggressive sales techniques can trap unsuspecting victims who are unable to escape until most or all of their funds have been lost or stolen by the scammers. A good comparison is to a perpetrator who " grooms '' their victim while also assaulting them and preventing them from escaping. 
The grounds upon which you refute my claim : Upon scrutiny, it is evident that your claims are flawed in attempting to thoroughly investigate the available facts, let alone provide an accurate portrayal of the role of Financial Institutions in fighting financial crime and fraud, your organization 's services, and other pertinent details regarding our relationship and its historical context. By focusing on inadequate due diligence checks, inconsequential references, and one-dimensional thinking, you present a distorted view of my fundamental rights as a customer, and offer a poor model for comprehending the issue in a well-reasoned and objective manner. 
This approach also serves as a deficient guide to determining whether any wrongdoing occurred on your part. 
Regarding the " authorization '' argument, you argue that statements such as " the transaction has been authorized '' and " the duty of care has been breached '' are incompatible. However, you have not demonstrated that these statements are logically contradictory or improbable with regard to each other. 
They are not mutually exclusive when considered in the broader context. 
The view that my authorization of the transaction renders me fully liable oversimplifies the situation and overlooks other relevant factors related to the breach of duty of care. Clearly, there are additional facts that must be taken into account beyond what initially appears. 
Conclusion : Finally, as the foregoing analysis shows, BoAs grossly negligent failure to stop the fraud in question played a key role in causing my damages. BoA compounded such failures by making improper factual determinations and wrongfully rejecting the allegations made. BoAs failure to propose remedial action to achieve a just outcome in my case, as well as their ineffective assistance has resulted in my incurring staggering losses and runs contrary to their purported longstanding commitment to protecting the integrity and fairness of the market against any abuses. 
I formally request, in the name of justice as well as the points made above, that my case proceed with mediation/arbitration so that no party ends up suffering as a result of unjust actions and the refusal of anyone to take the basic responsibilities for enabling this to happen/doing nothing to set things right. 
The information provided should meet the criteria for these reconsiderations. 
If despite these objections, my concerns are not appropriately taken into consideration and are instead simply dismissed, you can be assured that alternative action will be taken, and I will make it a point to share our exchanges with the public so that at least pre-emptive action can be taken by other potential clients to avoid any dealings with organizations where customer security is not a priority. 
Thank you. 
XXXX XXXX