Consumer complaint received 2024-08-14
Product: Checking or savings account — Savings account
Issue: Managing an account — Problem making or receiving payments
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION (TX)

On XX/XX/XXXX, at approximately XXXX XXXX, I received a text message from XXXX XXXX  asking if I had approved a transaction to transfer money from my account. I immediately sent back a text replying no. Having had a similar issue with 23 different transactions the week prior, I did not think twice about answering a call from XXXX with XXXX Fraud department. It is important to note that my Bank of America accounts are linked to my brokerage account with XXXX so that I can transfer funds from one bank to the other. 

XXXX informed me that there was this detected case of fraud was related to a transfer from Bank of America. I informed him that I had not made any such transfer. After over 2 hours on the telephone this individual had convinced me that my Bank of America accounts were protected and that 3 wire transfers were needed to create an audit trail designed to catch the perpetrators of this crime. New B of A accounts were being created to ensure my money was safe and secure and that as soon as we were done creating these fake transactions, B of A would be contacting me to provide the updated account numbers and access information. 
I was very concerned about the amounts being transferred and was continuously re-assured through XXXX confirming my identification details that the call was legitimate. 

This resulted in {$16000.00} vanishing from my Bank of America savings account and another {$6200.00} vanishing from my Bank of America Checking account. 

Being completely unnerved by this entire situation, I immediately contacted XXXX XXXX ( via the XXXX number ) to ask additional questions and was connected at XXXX with XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX informed me that there was no record of any potential fraud on my XXXX account and the only recent transaction reflected me changing my password. I informed XXXX that I had not even logged into for at least a week. At that point case # XXXX was created and my XXXX accounts frozen. The XXXX department was closed for the day and XXXX promised me a return phone call on XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX XXXX  central at which time he would connect me with someone in the XXXX Fraud department. 

Completely freaked out at this point, I place a call to Bank of America at approximately XXXX XXXX  and spoke to XXXX in XXXX. He confirmed that the funds were gone and transferred me to the Bank of America Fraud division. I spoke to XXXX in Texas and 2 cases were create. Immediately following this call, I updated my Bank of America online banking password and activated their 2-factor authentication. 

This communication is regarding Bank of America fraud case # XXXX for 2 wire transfers in the amounts of {$9800.00} and {$6400.00} totaling {$16000.00} from my Bank of America savings account . Upon the creating of the case, XXXX informed me that I would be receiving an email from B of A with documents that must be signed and returned to them before the case could be investigated. The executed document ( attached ) was submitted both to the email provided and through the secure, Bank of America, portal from which the document was sent. 

After receiving an email regarding a bank transfer from my Bank of America account to XXXX in the amount of {$10000.00}, I called Bank of America and spoke to XXXX in West Virginia. XXXX was able to place a stop payment on the transfer that was resolved overnight. 

In the following days, I made several calls to Bank of America ( at the number the case documents provided XXXX ) requesting an update on my case as documented below : XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX XXXX  spoke to XXXX from Arizona who informed me that the case was showing as worked and pending retrieval of funds. He could provide no specific timeframe and suggested I call back in 5-10 days. 
XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX XXXX  spoke to XXXX from Texas who informed me that the case was in a pending collections status. He suggested I call again on the XXXX. I asked him to please request a status from the case investigator. 
XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX XXXX  spoke to XXXX from Texas who informed me that the case was still in a pending collection status. I asked her what that meant and she stated that it meant that the case was pending a response from the bank where the funds were sent. She explained that the process could take 10 45 days and that there would be no guarantee of a refund. She also stated that the bank would not credit my account as this was a case of a SCAM vs FRAUD. Further, if I did not get my funds refunded, I would have to file a case with my local police. Being completely dissatisfied, I requested to speak to a manager. 
XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX XXXX  XXXX transferred me to XXXX ( her supervisor ). XXXX explained that there was a Hold Harmless was on file which acknowledged that the bank confirmed that fraud had been committed. She indicated that the back office investigative team were working with the 2 banks involved in where the funds were transferred XXXX and XXXX and that there was no way to connect me to the investigator as all communications go through a VSP Wire System that is used for the banks to talk to each other in the cases where a scam was involved. She could not provide me an internal resource ( within B of A ) to escalate this to nor to contact directly for updates and next steps. XXXX indicated that she had been with the bank for 4 years and had seen some cases where the funds were recovered. She agreed to note the case that I was requesting a status update. This was my second request that Bank of America request a status update on my behalf. 
XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX XXXX  Spoke to XXXX from Tennessee who informed my that this was only calendar day 22, the have 45 days to respond, the case was still in a pending collection status, and that there was still no response from the other banks. She agreed to add an escalation request note on the case in the VSP system. 
XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX XXXX I spoke to XXXX from Tennessee and was informed that this was only calendar day 29. She assured me that the pending collection was a good sign this early in the investigation. She confirmed that a wire recall was sent to the receiving bank on XX/XX/XXXX at that the receiving bank has 60-90 days to respond. She stated that the previous notes from all of my other calls were present in the case notes and I should keep checking back. 
XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX XXXX  I spoke to XXXX from Tennessee who confirmed that my request for follow up were in the case notes, but that the request had not been sent until XX/XX/XXXX. I requested a manager and was transferred to XXXX. XXXX informed me that the transaction is not insured and that if no response was received by day 120, the case would automatically close. Once the case closed, I would have to go to local law enforcement and file a claim. She also stated the Bank of America would NOT be reaching out to the receiving banks again. 
XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX XXXX  Spoke to XXXX from Tennessee who pulled up my claim. She confirmed the only outreach that Bank of America made were on XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX and that there would not be another. Additionally, this being calendar day 42, I should call back at day 45. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I received the attached correspondence from Bank of America that only stated that The attempt to recover the funds was not successful. We now consider this inquiry closed. 

It is mind blowing to me that a consumer, using an FDIC insured, global banking institution does not have better protection for customers. Further, what is the difference in covering a clients exposure in the case of a wire transfer, vs and ACH or EFT transaction and where is it specifically stated that they are treated differently. 

I believe that Bank of America has an obligation to credit the funds that this scam cost me. Being that they are who I have the relationship with, they are the only ones who can make me whole. The receiving banks would not speak to me as I do not have an account with either of them. I did call XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX XXXX  and spoke to XXXX who told me that he could do nothing to assist me. Additionally, there is no clear path nor process for consumers to access in getting assistance with these matters. What is a consumer to do? 

Please help me recover my savings or point me to a resource who can help.