Consumer complaint received 2023-10-02
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Problem using a debit or ATM card
Company: Block, Inc. (NJ)

On XXXX XXXX XXXX I was contacted on XXXX XXXX by a friend I've had for more than 15 years. He told me he had a broker that invested bitcoin for him and asked if I was interested. To be sure I was talking to the right person, I asked him to video chat me. He called and I saw him speaking before the line was disconnected. He told me he was heading into the factory, which is work I know he does. He walked me through the first bitcoin transaction for {$500.00}. I used my debit card to load the funds to CashApp, made the bitcoin purchase and then he transferred me to his broker. As I'm talking to the broker, he charges a fee of {$250.00}, which I also paid in Bitcoin on CashApp. Then he goes on to show me a list of amounts I could invest along with potential returns. I know returns are not guaranteed but I thought I was making a legitimate investment. Whenever I got anxious, I would switch over and chat with my friend who would assure me everything was okay. I invested {$3000.00} in Bitcoin by loading the funds from my debit card to my CashApp account, where the Bitcoin was purchased. The broker was walking me through the steps to transfer it to their account so they could invest it for me. The broker then told me, hey the federal government is cracking down on people investing in Bitcoin through CashApp, thinking you're trying to game the system, so you'll have to pay the taxes before we can give you any returns. Okay, he gave me an amount of {$2100.00} for taxes. We conversed about this for a while because I thought when you get a return, you pay the taxes at that time. He assured me this was different through CashApp and so I did that as well. I did that in two separate transactions of {$1000.00} and {$1100.00} through XXXX to a friend of mine, who sent it back to my CashApp so I could make the purchases because CashApp would not allow me to load additional money. They told me I had reached the limit. So, now I'm up to {$5900.00} and I'm feeling very anxious because things keep changing every time, we finish a step. After transferring the last {$1100.00} to pay the taxes, the broker told me I made a misstep in the last transaction, which would cancel out everything. Now, I'm feeling there is the prospect of losing my money and it not being invested at all. He said I would have to complete the last transaction of {$1000.00} again. I said can't you just sell the {$1000.00} I just invested? It was minutes ago ; the market should not have changed that much. He showed me a screen shot with a return of {$280.00}. So now he says you will have to send {$1000.00}, I will put that with the {$280.00} to complete your investment. I send that {$1000.00} to my friend 's XXXX account, which she sent to CashApp. Now I'm up to {$6900.00} plus I've paid another {$500.00} or so in transaction fees to purchase the BitCoin. During this, I tried to make XXXX of the {$1000.00} payments through Bitcoin.com directly, who cancelled the transaction and would not let it be transferred to the broker. I could not understand why, I thought there was a hold on my account. When I called XXXX XXXX they said there was no hold on my card. I tried to pay {$1100.00} at XXXX time through XXXX, who also would not complete the transaction of sending it to the broker. That money was transferred back to my account. This began on the night of the XXXX of XXXX, this was now the XXXX of XXXX. I'm XXXX and nervous because it doesn't feel right. I'm asking the broker to now please give my money back to me and they can keep any returns that were gained over the 3 days. The broker continues to reassure me, and my friend is also reassuring me. The broker then said he would give my money back to me in BitCoin but my CashApp database was not big enough to receive the amount. I would need to pay {$1000.00} to get the database increased. This is when I knew I was in trouble. I have verified my CashApp account with my ssn and ID, I can receive any amount. There are limits on what can be sent but no limits on what can be received as I understood it. I'm realizing this is not a broker but someone stealing from me on the other end. I went to my messenger feed with my friend enraged that he would lead me into a scam, still not understanding he wasn't even involved. I don't know if the scammer played a video of him for the short video chat, but I know I saw his face and heard his voice. Something told me to download my XXXX data, which would have those conversations, so I did. Then I noticed the download had links to the conversation. I took screen shots of the whole conversation, while at the same time contacting XXXX XXXX and my local police department, who also told me I would not get my money back. They told me to file a report at XXXX, which I did. Then it got worse. The scammer hacked my XXXX account, changed all emails and passwords, gaining access to over XXXX friend connections and began scamming them. I reached out to everyone I know, especially people with mutual friend connections to ask them to post the page was hacked, to report the page and block the hacker. The page has been reported about XXXX times, and XXXX has still not taken it down. I've been told the page is read only, and the profile has been changed to show pictures of me receiving {$3000.00} from CashApp after investing {$500.00}. They even reached out to my mother who is elderly asking her if her CashApp was updated. Then I called XXXX to dispute the transactions I made through them because it was caught in the same scam and the bank agent said, " my heart goes out to you but I'm looking at this from a bank perspective, you won't get your money back because we did exactly what you asked us to do ''. I said even if I thought I was purchasing investments with a broker who was actually stealing on the other side, and she said yes. She said the most I could do is submit evidence to the bank, letting them know I was taken advantage of with my debit card, but I likely wouldn't recover it. I'm not trying to get rich quick here. I was laid off my job in XXXX XXXX and have enrolled in graduate school full time to increase my skills to find another job. I receive continued unemployment to do this training, so I don't receive some large amounts of money. I'm a XXXX XXXX and a XXXX XXXX veteran and I feel like I'm crying to these companies who don't hear me. When I called CashApp, they wouldn't even look into it, when the BitCoin was purchased on their application! They have the digital footprint of the thief and won't even look into it. If for nothing than to protect other people. The agent who answered said there was nothing I could because I authorized it, they said to contact my bank. My bank said to contact CashApp and XXXX doesn't care that the people I care about are being scammed also. I realized in the end the same thing that happened to my friend was happening to me and confidence is gained by using my profile, picking up on my conversations and the fact that people trust me. The banks who earn transactions on these scams say don't look at us, it's your fault. The thief is sleeping good at night because he can keep his rent paid with my money that I need and I'm the one who feels stupid and ashamed and can't sleep at night. XXXX XXXX put a provisional credit on my account of {$4000.00}. They also changed the interface of my banking app, with messages about trading scams and other scams that are prevalent. I appreciate that and am in no way blaming XXXX XXXX, I'm just asking that they share this information in the app environment for all their customers before we are scammed instead after. This might have helped me. I'm begging XXXX to let me keep the provisional credit, without it I will have to drop school for the semester and find any type of job to keep my household from going under. XXXX XXXX will not refund the XXXX total of {$2100.00}, can CashApp refund it? They see the funds were sent directly to them. If they thought I was being defrauded while I was loading the card, why didn't they say that. Why does their messaging not say that on the application? Why is there no disclaimer about it before a user purchases BitCoin for the first time? I need your help to get these big companies to hear my voice. I know I'm not the only person scammed, and the bank might feel like hey we can't give everyone 's scammed money back, but if you know it's happening, why won't you tell us? Prominently tell us the risk we're at. These scammers are so sophisticated, they are using AI and other tools of convenience to rob us. In this instance I feel the American banking and finance system that was designed to make it easier for me to use their services while they receive a fee, is set up for criminals to profit. I can only think to go to media and social media to make others aware of this and to get XXXX to take down the profile. I've had that page for 14 years, now there is 10-15 reports, and you see everything has been changed and you don't think anything is wrong?