Consumer complaint received 2023-10-06
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — Domestic (US) money transfer
Issue: Fraud or scam — 
Company: M&T BANK CORPORATION (CT)

On XX/XX/XXXX I was the victim of a scam. I had a charge on my XXXX credit account by way of an app. I called a number to reach XXXX which was provided by the app to dispute the charge. Unbeknownst to me, it was a scam. They answered as XXXX, and provided their name and employee number. He advised he could see other charges on my account for items purchased out of state. I advised they were not my charges. He requested access to my phone so that he could put blocks and limits on my accounts that were on my phone. I allowed him access. He accessed my bank and processed a transfer via XXXX. I never used XXXX before. He claimed the transaction was a test and that no money would be withdrawn from my account. This was the scam as I immediately saw {$1000.00} come out of my account. After arguing with him to get my money back, I hung up. I immediately contacted M & T Bank and froze my accounts and filed a dispute. I also became aware that they tried to transfer money via XXXX as well, but by freezing my accounts, they did not get that money. The next day I went to the bank branch and opened new accounts. In response to my dispute, I received a letter dated XX/XX/XXXX from M & T Bank stating that the XXXX transaction was processed correctly and they were denying my claim. Of course it looked like the transaction was processed correctly. The guy obviously knew what he was doing, but if they really investigated the transaction, they would see that they sent the money to one person, but used a strange XXXX account which actually sent the money to a different person. I called the bank to speak to someone in their fraud department and was told there was nothing they could do because I gave the person access to my phone. Yes, I let this person have access to my phone but I obviously thought he was helping me. I would never let some random stranger have access to my phone. However, it doesnt matter to M & T Bank that I was scammed into it. I also tried contacting XXXX, but could not reach anyone to help me because the transaction was done through my bank. I am submitting this complaint because M & T Bank is refusing to acknowledge the scam and return my money. I have found many news articles on line that state that XXXX is popular among thieves and that each year millions of dollars are stolen from consumers through XXXX in fraudulent transfers. Banks are aware of this and XXXX is aware of this yet nothing is being done. I should be able to get my money back regardless if I allowed him onto my phone because I was lied to and scammed. I believed I was being helped. As mentioned, there are many articles about this and one such article dated XX/XX/XXXX from XXXX XXXX states that XXXX XXXX XXXX found fraudulent transfers over XXXX exceeded {$250.00} XXXX last year alone. By federal laws and rules enforced by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, banks are required to refund customers for fraudulent and unauthorized transfers. Senator XXXX office has stated that banks that are not repaying customers who contest XXXX payments are potentially violating federal laws. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau also confirmed that consumers are not liable for payments initiated by a third party who obtained the consumers payment information through fraud. The person who had access to my phone was granted access through fraud. I am requesting that M & T Bank repay me in the amount of {$1000.00} which was transferred out of my account by way of a scam. My money is insured. I was scammed. I should be able to recover the funds.