Consumer complaint received 2026-06-17 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Problem with a lender or other company charging your account — Transaction was not authorized
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: NY

Complaint narrative:
I am the victim of fraud on my Citibank checking account ending in XXXX. This spring, my checking account was XXXX, and an unknown bad actor managed to steal close to {$30000.00} from my accounts in XXXX separate transactions ( XXXX and XXXX, and XXXX ) all under the {$10000.00} threshold to avoid drawing attention. So far, Citibank has honored the XXXX and only XXXX of the XXXX thefts. All the thefts used the same method : XXXX XXXX via XXXX XXXX accounts. All of the transactions were discovered within hours and reported to Citibank 's fraud department. The XXXX transactions for {$9900.00} were reported to Citibank 's fraud department on XX/XX/XXXX, the same day as the transactions, and in my opinion, the bank could have done more to immediately reverse the theft! Now these XXXX fraudulent transactions, which occurred within minutes of each other, were mishandled by the fraud department, resulting in only XXXX being honored by the bank. Thus, I am left without compensation for the additional theft of XXXX due to incompetence by the bank 's fraud team. Getting the bank to re-evaluate their mistake required hours of diligent pursuit by bank managers at my local branch and finding a sympathetic fraud XXXX to understand the bank 's error. This was no easy feat! Citibank 's fraud department is a punishing experience : inept, incompetent, and ridiculously long wait times on the phone, and then getting shuffled from department to department. The experience, in a word, is horrendous. Now I dont know if this is intentional to make victims throw up their hands and give up on trying to reclaim stolen funds, but that is irrelevant, because the effect is the same. I am not exaggerating when I say I have easily spent XXXX hours, or I should say wasted XXXX hours, trying to reclaim funds from my account. I finally had to go into the local Citibank branch, and through the kindness of some executives at the branch and many, many hours on the phone, I was able to get my case, which had been mishandled from day XXXX, reopened so I can recover {$9900.00} that was stolen from my account. This process involved XXXX different executives spending a combined XXXX hours on the telephone to get someone in the fraud department to intervene and reopen my case. In the course of this nightmare scenario, I discovered that XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX Attorney General, is investigating Citibank for its illegal practices in recovering funds converted in fraudulent transactions to its customers ' accounts. And for that purpose, I am memorializing this awful experience in hopes that Citibank will be compelled by the courts to clean up its act and set up a fraud department that doesnt further victimize its customers. This is a case of the cure being worse than the XXXX. I have been a customer at this bank for over XXXX years and, at XXXX time, had business, personal, and investment accounts with it. I am also XXXX XXXX XXXX and recently had XXXX XXXX XXXX and so to have to suffer and waste my precious energy and time on this is unconscionable. I find the bank 's practices discriminatory. I XXXX some elderly invalid being victimized by a relative or caregiver having to try to get their money back from this bank. Its an impossible situation and discriminates against anyone who is elderly and unwell and not being able to navigate the level of incompetence and apathy that Citibank subjects its customers to. So I am asking you to do whatever you can to compel this bank to return my money and end this intolerable situation XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX

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