Consumer complaint received 2023-10-29
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Problem using a debit or ATM card
Company: CITIBANK, N.A. (IL)

Complaint:
On Wednesday, XX/XX/XXXX, at approximately XXXX XXXX  XXXX, I received a mobile phone call from XXXX. The caller identified himself as " XXXX, a Citibank employee ''. He alerted me that there was suspicious activity occurring on my Checking account. After reviewing/confirming the transactions, I was alarmed, and he assured me that he would help me stop and reverse these items. Unbeknownst to me, this caller was an imposter and had already hacked into my Saving account and transferred {$3600.00} into my checking account, this was not authorized. Savings account Number is This fraudulent caller was skillful and professional in keeping me calm, insuring he would help me. In order to do so, he said we would use XXXX to transfer the funds to a phone number he provided, which was assigned to XXXX XXXX ; I do not know this person. I only know of this name when I saw it in the text confirmation. Additionally, the transfer occurred in three different transactions all to the same person. The transactions were for {$25.00} ; {$2400.00} and {$2500.00}. Once all funds were transferred out, the call ended, and I had less than {$5.00} in my checking account. 

As soon as the call ended, I immediately call the real Citibank Customer Service Number at XXXX, the same number the caller called from. The frontline Citibank employee started an investigation and within days I received a letter in the mail that my request for the funds to be returned was denied. Since then, I have called the only number I have for Citibank ( XXXX ) and I haven't been able to get beyond the frontline customer service representatives. These Customer Service calls seem to be outsourced to a foreign country in which the language is thick and my understanding is uncertain. Additionally, the frontline customer service representatives seem to be reading from a written script, in which they ask only the questions/statements on this script and not providing any intuition or common thought processing. Each time I would call, these frontline representatives did not present compassion or comprehension to what had occurred to me. 

In the last 12 months I have called the Citibank Customer Service Number to get help or clarification as to why my investigation keeps getting denied. Each time I called, I must be triaged by the same foreign country service representatives, each reading from the same script, neither asking follow-up questions. Never, not once, was I able to talk to a supervisor, manager, or person of seniority who had the authority to provide greater insight or investigate further. Each time I called, required me :45 - :90 minutes ; time entering selections on the phone, triage, on-hold while the foreigner looked up my account information, but mostly me trying to explain what happened. 

To help substantiate my lose, I filed a Crime Report with the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Police Department. I have also, faxed my account statements, crime report, and printout of the fraudulent transactions to Citibank and my case was stilled denied. 

I have visited the local Citibank branch to ask for help but they claim that they can NOT help me because they too must call the same toll-free number, XXXX to be triaged like me. 

With the lack of cooperation with my numerous calls to Citibank, I have contacted the Local XXXX station ( XXXX XXXX ) in XXXX and have an upcoming interview with the segment, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ) is a Consumer Affairs Reporter, and the interview is intended to bring awareness to the length of fraud consumers are encountering from hackers. 

Finally, and interestingly, shortly after my account was hacked into and I lost all but {$5.00}, I was no longer able to use XXXX to send funds to friend/family, via XXXX. When I called the Customer Service number, XXXX, the representative says, the vendor is working on it and it was supposed to be done in a few days. This is telling to me that Citibank knows there is a problem with XXXX and its ability to be infiltrated, yet Citibank wont protect their account holder- for which I have been one since XXXX! 
Recently, I was listening to a XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ) story on Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and I thought to myself, that this is my last resort, I am pleading to your agency to investigate and probe into why Citibank would partner with XXXX and NOT support their customers who are using this application.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation