Consumer complaint received 2025-01-02 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — Store credit card
Issue: Trouble using your card — Can't use card to make purchases
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: OH

Complaint narrative:
On XX/XX/XXXX I received the XXXX request that week from a XXXX email. The last email on XXXX  was another XXXX request for funds from XXXX from someone I didnt recognize named XXXX XXXX. This was the third XXXX email I received from someone I didnt know. The first request was for {$99.00}, the second for {$290.00}, and the XXXX on XXXX  the XXXX for {$590.00}. I did not accept any of the requests but there was an email at the bottom for help. 
The person on the help line told me he was with XXXX representing XXXX. He told me to wait for a few minutes and he came back telling me I had XXXX hackers in my system and they are generating the false XXXX requests. He said he will work on them but in order to do that I need to pay {$14000.00} in order to get the {$590.00} back and to rid my computer of the hackers. He asked for my bank accounts and showed me what I thought were my bank accounts with the {$14000.00} and told me to go to the bank and take out {$14000.00}. Amazing they gave it to me without much questions. He told me a script to tell the banker regarding getting home repairs and they want everything in cash. 
After I got the money he told me to go to their bank. Turns out it was just a XXXX kiosk and it took almost an hour and a half feeding the kiosk. He told me to keep a {$100.00} for my trouble. He told me to call him back at XXXX pm but the number he gave me didnt pick up. 

Last time I lost my report so I am going to give you the XXXX XXXX for the rest. I received a call from the scammer early Monday telling me that the XXXX deposit was not accepted and then he told me to go to my computer. As I did this he told me that he had cut my hackers by half. He said the hackers were from XXXX and the XXXX. He then said he needs to take control of my computer again as he did with my work computer on Friday. 

It was the XXXX and I was leaving XXXX to go to Iowa and be with family and friends. He said if I left now I would lose the money and he would lose his job. He said there was XXXX way to get around the XXXX block and that was through buying gift cards. I asked him several questions but he had answers for all of them. He told me he would give me {$1300.00} if I carried this out. So I went out and started to buy credit cards. I was out there for about XXXX hours. I got XXXX gift cards ( $ XXXX from XXXX. Then I went to XXXX and got $ XXXX in gift cards ( thankfully they stopped payment later that afternoon. Then I went to several XXXX stores ( in the end over {$18000.00}. 
After I got the cards and went back home, he told me I had to shred the gift cards and receipts. After I came out of each store he had me read the numbers on the back of the cards. As I was doing this he told me he had good news, that he had eliminated another XXXX hackers with only XXXX hackers left. I was exhausted but he said to get ready to go back out because fraud stopped the cards being processed. This time he told me just to go to XXXX stores because flags were raised because I went to different stores. He then showed me what looked like my account and now it went from {$14000.00} to {$28000.00}. 
I told him that I thought he was the scammer. He said he had someone to talk to. It sounded like the same man in falsetto. He told me I had quite an imagination. He said he would give me an extra {$1000.00} to go out. I went to XXXX XXXX stores all over the XXXX. At each XXXX store he told me to ask for {$900.00} ( {$300.00} on each card. The last Target store I was at, after XXXX pm I was being flagged by AMEX and they tried to get the fraud warning lifted and he asked me if I had XXXX. I said I did but never used it. He said I will tell you how. He asked if I had a different card with XXXX. I said I didnt know. We found out that my XXXX blue card AMEX was tied to the account and I got a lot of cards there. The AMEX guy stayed online for me to make sure it worked. As a matter of fact each AMEX security person helped me get through the security block. 
Now it was after XXXX pm and no more Targets or time to do more. He told me to go home and go to bed but said I had to rip the cards up ( as he stayed online again ). Then he made me take another picture of the pile of shredded cards and receipts. I said I am leaving for Iowa early. He called me earlier telling me he had gotten the number of hackers down to XXXX but unfortunately something went wrong with the gift cards and showed me what I thought was my bank account and it had doubled again. I was apoplectic and to, d him I was going to call the police. 
He said all I needed to do was get the original {$14000.00} and he will take care of the rest.. I went to the closest Target from my house and I spoke with two levels of security with AMEX.

This time AMEX could not get through the security block. He was listening in as I went to my car. I told him I was not going to do anymore because Im blocked. He said I needed to call the police then he threatened me telling me I would lose my money involved, Id lose both of my computers and my social security. I did hang up and he tried to get back in touch. I went to the police and the process of cleaning up the mess. By the way, when asked he told me that his name was XXXX XXXX.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation