Consumer complaint received 2024-03-05
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — International money transfer
Issue: Fraud or scam — 
Company: COMMERCE BANK (KS)

I have been a co-owner of my father 's Commerce Bank accounts, XXXX XXXX of XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, KS XXXX, since XXXX XXXX. Commerce Bank released cashier 's checks and wire transfers without my permission as co-owner when my father went to the banks to withdraw money for people who were scamming him. His story was not plausible and not believable especially since XXXX 's Commerce Bank accounts have never shown one transaction in 34 years to a foreign country and definitely not to XXXX. XXXX did not recognize he was being scammed. These scammers from XXXX told him he inherited a cocoa plant from an uncle he never met and they told him his money would go toward the purchase of gold bars. We have never done business in XXXX and if the tellers and bankers would have looked at our accounts, they would have seen no transactions to XXXX or any foreign country. XXXX told Commerce Bank bankers only what he was told from the scammers. These bankers knew XXXX only banks with Commerce Bank so they could have seen his history on all his accounts. He has been loyal and sent a lot of people in XXXX XXXX to open accounts with Commerce Bank because he believed in this bank. This should show his past loyalty. From my research, Commerce Bank bankers who completed the transactions did not take the time to look into his/our accounts to check if he or we had made any transactions to XXXX. We in fact had not. Takes just a few simple steps to review accounts, place wire transfers on hold, contact the fraud department, and contact the co-owners of accounts when the money is larger than {$1000.00}. When the frequency to the bank is repeated within days of one another and is rare from customers who do not typically do this, this is a red flag. It was brought to my attention that XXXX XXXX was suspicious about XXXX 's stories after the first wire transfer, but failed to contact the fraud department. She made comments to others in her branch about something not being right however, because XXXX is a retire law enforcement officer and XXXX of XXXX XXXX, she wanted to believe he knew what was going on at the time when in fact he did not. His stories were inconsistent as one wire transfer was about paying a lawyer, another was about land, another was about gold bars, and another was to pay a manager which is something that should have been sent to the fraud department for further investigation because it makes no sense. XXXX went to Commerce Bank within days of one another to wire transfer large amounts which is also a red flag. Again, no one from Commerce Bank alerted me as the co-owner until the last wire transfer was stopped on XX/XX/XXXX. I ran into the bank and placed the money into another account to keep it safe. Even when suspicions were known after the first wire transfer, XXXX was over-looked, and Commerce Bank failed to secure our accounts. I am asking for a refund in the amount of {$550000.00} and possibly the full amount of {$600000.00} because we were not protected by Commerce Bank due no one looking into our accounts to verify more information and that this should have been forwarded to Commerce Bank 's fraud department. Commerce Bank failed to secure our accounts against fraud. 
Thank you, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX