Consumer complaint received 2023-04-12
Product: Checking or savings account — Savings account
Issue: Problem with a lender or other company charging your account — Transaction was not authorized
Company: DISCOVER BANK (NY)

I am writing to report a fraudulent wire transfer that occurred on my Discover online bank account. On XX/XX/2023, at XXXXXXXX XXXX, I received a call from an individual identified himself to be a Discover fraud prevention specialist. The caller ID displayed the Discover Bank number ( XXXX ), and I believed the caller was legitimately from Discover. 
The caller informed me that my account may have been compromised and offered to assist in stopping any fraudulent activity, including debit card transactions and wire transfer, if I could confirm that these activities were not authorized by me. In good faith, I provided the caller with the necessary information, including codes generated by Discover and a verification link to submit my ID. The fraudulent agent also cleverly tricked me to set up call forwarding on my phone without realizing what he had asked me to do. This was all done to stop the wire transfer and receive a new debit card overnight. 
However, after few hours when call ended suddenly, I discovered that {$210000.00} had been wired out of my account without my knowledge or consent. When I contacted Discover, they informed me that the wire transfer was completed over the phone and that there was no record of my speaking to Discover to stop the wire. I did not initiate or request an outgoing wire transfer from Discover. 
I am also concerned that no one noticed that the almost whole savings balance of my account, which I have held with Discover for about ten years, was going into a commercial account called XXXX XXXX XXXX in XXXX XXXX. It makes no sense, given that there is no history of any wire transfers from my personal savings account, and that the account is not a business account. It is imperative to inquire about the reason for such a large amount being transferred to that account with standard verification, as Discover rushed to send the money out. 
After discovering the fraudulent wire transfer, Discover Bank informed me that they would stop the transfer. However, I later found out that this was false information. I also spoke to investigation team to closed my accounts and opened new ones and informed me that they would initiate a recall of the wire within a few hours of the transfer. That night, I called XXXX times to urge Discover to show urgency in stopping the funds from leaving XXXX and suggested that they should immediately contact XXXX as well. Despite my concerns, I was reassured that Discover had an excellent investigation team and that they would work on the issue. 
On the night of the incident, I tried to contact XXXX XXXX  to prevent the funds from leaving the beneficiary account, but unfortunately, I did not have the necessary information to do so, such as the beneficiary account number and business name. As a result, I had to wait until the following day to obtain this information from Discover Bank. 
On XX/XX/XXXX, at XXXX XXXX, I contacted Discover Bank to acquire the wire transfer information and subsequently visited a local XXXX XXXX  branch in XXXX. During my conversation with the manager, I was informed that they were unable to flag or freeze anyone 's funds, and that my best course of action was to contact Discover Bank to rectify the issue. 
After receiving no assistance from XXXX, I proceeded to file a police report at the XXXX XXXX located at XXXX XXXX XXXX. on XX/XX/XXXX and was given XXXX Report XXXX. XXXX. I was also informed that the police do not get involved with cybercrimes and that the best option would be working with Discover to return my funds. Additionally, on XX/XX/XXXX, I filed a cybercrime report at ic3.gov, but have not received any updates since then. Despite numerous calls made to Discover Bank between XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX, I was informed that there were no updates available and that the investigation was still ongoing. 
It was only on XX/XX/XXXX when a Discover representative finally contacted XXXX to inquire about the situation. After several hours of effort to reach XXXX department, it was revealed that the funds had been transferred out of XXXX on the same day, but the manner in which they were transferred remained unclear. 
Unfortunately, after discovering that the funds could not be recovered from XXXX, Discover made the decision that they could not return my funds, stating that it was a scam and not covered. However, I am questioning the urgency with which they sent out the wire and the lack of urgency to recover the funds. 
Despite being told that the issue will be escalated and I will be informed if their decision changes, they are currently unable to return my funds. I am hoping that you may be able to provide me with any assistance or resources that could help in this matter. I am open to any suggestions or guidance that you may have and I am willing to cooperate fully with any investigation.

As a responsible individual, I have always been conscientious about managing my finances. However, a fraudulent wire transfer has caused immense distress to me and my family, and our lives have been turned upside down. The money that was stolen represented our life savings, which we had planned to use to purchase a house for our family in the near future. 
I am now reaching out for help from legal professionals, government agencies, the media, and the local DA Office to assist me in this matter. Your timely attention to this situation would be greatly appreciated, and I remain confident that we can resolve this issue as quickly as possible. 
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter, and I look forward to hearing from you soon. 

Regards,