Consumer complaint received 2025-05-03 00:00:00
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — Mobile or digital wallet
Issue: Fraud or scam — 
Company: NAVY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION
State: MD

Complaint narrative:
Incident Summary : Navy Federal Credit Union Scam Thursday, XX/XX/year> XXXX PM. 

The scammers, posing as Navy Federal Credit Union ( my bank ), sent a text message from a spoofed number : ( XXXX ) XXXX. They also attempted to call me using these additional numbers : XXXX ( XXXX ) XXXX and XXXX ( XXXX ) XXXX. The message claimed a suspicious {$2300.00} transfer had occurred using my account information. The sender called himself XXXX XXXX and posed as a XXXX XXXX representative. 

Upon receiving the text, I was immediately thrown into a state of confusion and anxiety. The Scammer, who had now shifted to a phone call, continued impersonating a XXXX XXXX employee and requested authentication details. In my state of distress, I mistakenly provided the requested information. The Scammer then transferred the call to a fake " Fraud Department '' to appear more credible. The call shifted to FaceTime using the contact XXXX. The scammers asked me to share my phone screen so they could " resolve '' the unauthorized transaction. They pressured me to confirm whether I had the XXXX XXXX app, reveal the balances in my accounts, and provide personal information. 

They reset my account passwords and coerced me into revealing my Social Security number. They also asked for account codewords, which I did not have enabled. Because biometric authentication blocked their access, they could not log into the app directly. The scammers then confirmed I was alone and ensured I was not with anyone who could intervene. They instructed me to transfer funds from my XXXX to my Checking account. Then, they directed me to send money using the XXXX XXXX and XXXX apps, claiming they needed to " lock '' the funds in a safe location. 

The XXXX transfers failed and were canceled. However, several XXXX XXXX transactions went through successfullyincluding transfers to unknown accounts and XXXX purchases. In total, the scammers stole approximately {$4800.00} from my accounts. During the FaceTime call, they claimed someone had attempted to take out a fraudulent {$7500.00} personal loan in my name. They pressured me to sign a document, claiming it would help prevent further fraud. I now believe they used that document to initiate the loan. 

The call lasted about XXXX hours and XXXX minutes and felt like an eternity. It ended late that night due to my early commitments the next day. Before hanging up, the Scammer warned me not to share any details with anyone. They claimed the FBI could get involved and insisted I stay silent. They scheduled another call for XXXX AM on Friday, XX/XX/XXXX, to " continue the investigation. '' I felt trapped and powerless, unable to escape the situation. 


Friday, XX/XX/year> XXXX AM. 
The scammers called as they said they would. They ordered me to visit the nearest XXXX XXXX branch and warned me that they monitored everything I said. They told me to act cold and rude toward bank employees to avoid attracting attention. Claiming XXXX XXXX staff were responsible for the fraud, they insisted they were conducting an internal investigation. 
They said any sign of negligence from bank employees would result in their termination. These threats made the situation even more terrifying. I feared being blamed for the fraud and felt intense pressure to obey. 
I visited the branch XXXX times that day : First ( XXXX AM ), Second ( XXXX AM ), and Third ( XXXX AM ). 

First Visit : I withdrew the {$7600.00} loan from XXXX XXXX, believing I needed to repay it. The Scammer then directed me to a local XXXX Bank, where I deposited the money into a pre-existing account they had created through Apple Pay and/or Apple Wallet. I used the Drive-Thru ATM with my phone via Near Field Communication ( NFC ). 

Second & Third Visits : The scammers instructed me to return to XXXX XXXX to request a cash advance through my credit card. They redirected me to the same branch for this. However, the cash advance failed due to technical issues within the app. At that point, I finally paused, gathered my thoughts, and reached out to people close to me for advice. They warned me that I was being scammed. 

That realization gave me the strength to stop complying and take control of the situation.

Company public response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation