Consumer complaint received 2024-08-29 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Banking errors
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: NH

Complaint narrative:
Breach by Bank of America Employee of personal record, used for fraud Prior to leaving for an extended period in XXXX, I opened a checking account with my sister on XX/XX/year>, in the event I became locked out of my BofA account while afar. 

On XX/XX/year> and XX/XX/year>, we both received our debit cards, each with a unique number. We both stored the cards in our separate safes, hers delivered to her home in Maine, mine in New Hampshire. Neither of us used the cards or moved them outside of each of our homes. Mine stayed at my empty home in NH while in XXXX, which no one could access. I was in XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX 

On XX/XX/year>, my sister received a text message from BofA with suspected fraud. She called me and I locked her and my cards online via the BofA website. Minutes later, a fraud attempt on my card was stopped by the lock. Ten minutes later, a fraud attempt was successful on my locked card, because the charge was changed to a reoccurring charge, overriding the lock. 

Due to the uniqueness of our card use : - Mailed to differing states ; - Never used online, in-person, or taken outside of our homes ; - Locked in two different safes with no one else having access ; it is only possible that a bank employee breached my account, as skimmers, RFID readers, merchant mishandling, online fraud, postal interference ( diff states ) are all impossible. The cards, each with its own unique number, were used minutes apart, a result of collective data that can only be gathered from within the bank. 

Bank of America has admitted the fraud is due to an employee breach, but refuses to alert government agencies of such. I am certain I am not the first victim, just the first to figure it out due to the uniqueness of not using the debit cards, or taking them out of our homes, combined with them being delivered to two different states, with both cards used for fraud within minutes. 

I do not suspect foul play by employees in my local Bank of America branch in XXXX, NH, since they can not view debit card numbers on screen ( per staff ). I believe the employee breach is from a higher-level. 

Bank of America XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, last stated the bank can not provide me with details about the investigation, which I understand. Albeit, she last stated she believes it was USPS postal interference. Since my sisters card was delivered to Maine, mine the New Hampshire, this is impossible. Through research, I discovered card chips are tracked as they leave the card manufacturing plant, until they are separated by zip code, further making a USPS breach not a possibility ( XXXX BofA cards are processed in the plant daily ). Since cards are separated by state in their envelopes immediately while tracked and under secure watch, it's impossible that both our cards were stolen at the exact same time post being separated ). 

Highest ranking Bank of America employees involved post-fraud : XXXX XXXX XXXX, Operations Manager XXXX Mobile : ( XXXX ) XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, Preferred Customer Banking XXXX Work : ( XXXX ) XXXX XXXX XXXX Investigator, BofA Contact information was denied I have been reimbursed for the fraud on my debit card. The impetus of this filings is twofold : I am concerned the ( 1 ) employee ( s ) responsible have gathered additional personal information from my account which may affect me and/or my sister later, and ( 2 ) Bank of America is striving to maintain silence around a potentially wide-spread and ongoing breach from within the bank, which I believe needs to be reported to FDIC, you, as banking oversight for the State of New Hampshire, to assure there are less victims and the employee ( s ) is stopped. 

Thank you and please feel free to contact me anytime, 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 monetary relief