Consumer complaint received 2023-02-04
Product: Checking or savings account — Other banking product or service
Issue: Closing an account — Can't close your account
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION (MI)

XX/XX/XXXX I received an email notifying me of a pending account application and subsequent approval of a Bank of America XXXX XXXX banking account. I don't know if this is saving or checking, but I have no relationship with Bank of America, and to my knowledge I never have. The account was opened with my SSN but in my maiden name, and I have had my married name on my SS card and driver 's license for the last 6 years. I immediately called the Bank of America XXXX department as listed on their corporate website. An agent verified my social security number, and told me that the social security number was used to open the account. I have no idea how they used my actual email address and physical address. He then assured me the account was immediately closed, no transactions had been done, and he promised to remove all inquiries and reporting to the three major credit bureaus. He also promised to send a report of all that we had discussed and something to tell me how seriously BoA take fraud and security... But I never received anything. This was concerning, but I had no way to check back with a random phone representative. I checked my reports later that week and saw nothing suspicious, and put the issue behind me. 
Today, XX/XX/XXXX, I received a statement of the activity on the account from XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX. I immediately called and asked how could there be an account statement for an account that had already been closed a month prior to the statement period. The representative assured me the account was indeed closed and " purged, '' and this was just a 'final " statement of activity. I questioned then why I never got a first statement for the day it actually was open the prior month, up until XX/XX/XXXX, and nothing on this statement indicated that the account had been closed, so she transferred me to the XXXX department since she had no explanation. 
The fraud department only would not say or do anything until I verified the phone number on the account. I had never been asked that with the previous agent, so I would have no idea what phone number the fraudster used. I tried my number, and my husband 's in case I had given that the prior time, and my parents ' number in case this account had been opened with information from a forgotten adolescent savings account ( perhaps an employee had been reopening old accounts to hit quotas again )! Of course they weren't right. I offered to use my SSN as verification just like I had the first time I called the fraud department, but she refused. She then told me she could not tell me a single thing about the account, whether it was open or closed, even though I pointed out the agent that transferred me had just assured me it was closed... She said I would have to take time out of my life and go to a branch with TWO forms of identification to PROVE WHO I WAS to VERIFY whether they closed the account THAT THEY LET BE OPENED in a name that DIDN'T MATCH THE SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER for 6 years ... After I had been assured over a month prior this was a closed case with no additional hassle to me, because they take security seriously! Ha! How is a phone number more secure than a social!?!? 
I really suspect this is an internal situation, as Bank of America has been in trouble before for opening fraudulent accounts ( I think ) to meet goals on the branch level. How else would they allow a mismatch of name and social security number to open an account online with no flags raised, but they won't let me close the account because of a phone number! Especially after the first call at the initial time in XXXX had no problems at all closing the account with my social security number! Additionally I have pulled all of my credit scores over the last month, and there have not been any other fraudulent activities at all, which further leads me to believe this is an internal situation at Bank of america, defrauding the public again for their own gains. If my social had been stolen, wouldn't there be other activity?