Consumer complaint received 2024-02-17
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — Domestic (US) money transfer
Issue: Other transaction problem — 
Company: TRUIST FINANCIAL CORPORATION (VA)

This letter summarizes the events and actions we have taken as of XX/XX/XXXX, after no results from XXXX XXXX - XX/XX/XXXX, this letter was mailed on XX/XX/XXXX : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Chief Legal Officer Truist Bank XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, NC XXXX Re : Theft of funds by wire transfer & Bank Fraud Dear XXXX XXXX : I am writing to notify you of your banks failure to respond to our organizations repeated attempts to be made whole after our Truist accounts were breached resulting in the theft of {$14000.00}. Truist assigned a number to our complaint of fraud : Case # XXXX. While {$14000.00} may seem a small amount to you, it is a huge amount to our small non-profit organization. The theft of this money represents a huge hole in our ability to provide our services to the community. 
Since the theft six weeks agoon XX/XX/XXXX, XXXXTruist has made only a partial restitution ( {$6400.00} ) of our money. In the process of trying to rectify this problem Truist staff have provided inaccurate and conflicting information about our accounts. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ( CFPB ), Truist had three business days to respond and issue a temporary credit back to our accounts for the full amount while it conducts a full investigation. This did not happen. Truist hasnt even given us a reliable way to follow up. It has repeatedly directed us to a non-working number ( XXXX ) for further assistance from a case manager in Client Advocacy who does not seem to exist. After several rounds of calls to your general customer service line, we were told we had another case number ( XXXX ) although its not clear to use what this refers to or how to follow up on it. 
1 ) Truist did not provide proper oversight or adequate safeguards to protect our accounts from this theft. Banks are required to meet a standard of care to detect and avoid fraudulent transfers out of clients accounts. On XX/XX/XXXX we had two accounts ( # XXXX and XXXX ) breeched. The thieves managed to transfer {$14000.00} out of an account that only had {$4600.00} in it. It appears that the bank facilitated the theft by transferring money from our primary account to cover the overdraft and fulfill the amount requested by the thieves. On that day, I received a text message around XXXX alerting me to an attempted XXXX XXXX purchase for {$1600.00} in XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX I replied but did not provide an account number or password. I did confirm our address and Tax ID number ( which are both also on our website and public information. ) Approximately an hour later I received a call from XXXX that was identified as Truist bank number, notifying me that our account had been hacked. Presumably, the earlier text was a fraudulent phishing text. It appears that the hackers were able to access our online account by making changes to our account verification options. Some of the false account verification information is still attached to our account, despite our efforts to have it removed. 
2 ) Truist has given us the run around since XX/XX/XXXX. Here is a timeline of our attempts to resolve this matter : a. We went to the bank the next morning ( XX/XX/XXXX ) to address the account hack. Truist locked both our accounts and froze our debit cards. XXXX XXXX XXXX at branch located XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, set up two new accounts for us with the money left in our primary account. XXXX XXXX also provided us with new checks that would allow us to pay bills due and/or disrupted by the hack. However, Truist failed to transfer money into the new accounts so these new checks bounced and triggered overdraft fees. 
b. On or about XX/XX/XXXX, we went back to the branch and spoke to the branch manager XXXX XXXX. Her first statement to us I hope you have insurance. We arent aware of any efforts of XXXX XXXX part to assist with our situation. 
c. On XX/XX/XXXX Truist returned {$6400.00} to our account # XXXX and we later received letters stating the case was closed without any mention of the {$7500.00} still outstanding. Legally, Truist should have returned our money to our accounts within 24 hours of the theft. This has not happened. 
d. XX/XX/XXXX today XX/XX/XXXX. Complaints filed through our local Truist branches, regarding the emails and letters sent to XXXX XXXX with conflicting information about whether the case was closed, not closed, and referred to Client Advocacy have continued. Although we have been in touch with XXXX XXXX, Client Advocacy, there has been no action on either our complaints or return of our stolen money. We have received no information regarding investigation of the fraud, except to learn that both stolen wires were deposited in Truist banks wow! 
Truist has a pattern of disregard and obfuscation of account hacks. This experience has led us to inquire into Truists handling of account fraud and we have found evidence that Truist has a history of systematically and deliberately refusing to acknowledge, much less provide a meaningful response, to hundreds if not thousands of injured small businesses and individuals. This behavior is in direct contradiction to its obligations under federal law including the FDIC and other programs to comply with safeguards established to protect consumers from fraudulent practices. Therefore, we are alerting our state and federal legislators to this matter, along with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ( CFPB ) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency ( OCC ). 
Truist has had almost 90 days to complete its investigation and we expect the bank to return the remaining {$7500.00} of our money to us promptly.