Consumer complaint received 2024-06-05 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Savings account
Issue: Opening an account — Unable to open an account
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
Monday, XX/XX/scrub>XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Someone messaged me on XXXX claiming to be an artist. They messaged me asking if they could use one of my photos as reference for their mural art. I didnt think much of it as I just assumed they were only asking me for permission for my photo. Before I messaged them back, I looked into their profile to see if there was anything suspicious. I didnt really find much except for finding one of my friends mutuals following them back. I later on replied back saying that they could use my photo and went on with my day. 
TuesdayXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX They messaged me again going into detail of what they plan to do with my photo. In their words they said, for the painting, I would be doing an oil on canvas, XXXX x XXXX portrait painting using your face or one of your posts as my inspired muse for reference As they went into detail, it made me believe that they really were an artist. I didnt really suspect much since I have had a couple of small businesses in the past contacting me asking if they could send me freebies in order to promote their business. I assumed that for this case it would be the same since the scammer mentioned that they would give me credit for using my photo while also receiving {$500.00} of their {$2000.00} from the painting. 
WednesdayXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  I received a new message from the scammer. On this day, my mom and I were out of town and were on the way to pick up my brother from the airport. As I was sleeping in the car ride to the airport, the scammer called my number. My phone was connected to the bluetooth speaker of the car. My mom then accepted the call not knowing who it was. As my mom picked up the call, there was silence on the other end of the line. My mom would say, hello? several times before the caller ended the call. The caller called about seven more times with the same response of silence. It was Wednesday, XX/XX/year> XXXX XXXX XXXX, I was halfway asleep, aware of what was happening, woke up, and checked my phone. During this time, I checked the spammed messages from the caller. In their own words, they threatened me when they said, Its better to get back to me before my client contacts the FBI for possible theft. Of course I believed it. I had someone elses money in my own hands. I was afraid. Immediately after reading the messages, I got back to them explaining how I was asleep and how I wasnt the one picking up their calls. They ignored the situation and asked for a screenshot for proof that the funds are now in my bank account. Once I sent the screenshot of proof, they began sending me numbers of where to XXXX the money. The first number was XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. The caller asked me to send {$200.00} first and right after the {$300.00}. I asked them why couldnt I just send the {$500.00} in full. They replied back saying, It has to be separate so they can confirm it and it wont pend. The next number was ( XXXX ) XXXX XXXX to XXXX XXXX. They requested that I do the same process as I did with the first number. Once I have sent the money, the caller then tells me that they will now send in the new check. I asked if I could just take a photo of the check later since I didnt have a laptop in hand. They told me that I could just text them when I am ready for the next check. 
It is now Wednesday, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX The caller messaged me again with photos of the new mobile check. They requested for the checks to be deposited before XXXXXXXX XXXX. During this time, I was having dinner with my family at a restaurant as a celebration for my brother being back from studying abroad. At this time, I still didnt have a laptop in hand so instead, I sent the photos to my brother 's phone so I could take the photo for the mobile check from there. It was now XXXXXXXX XXXX we had just left the restaurant. This was the time where I had the opportunity to finish making the deposits before XXXX XXXX. As I made several attempts to make the deposit, it wouldnt work due to the phone screen being too small. It made it difficult to take the picture of the check. We were also in a moving car as we attempted to make the deposit in time. At this moment, I was in a panic. Not only was I unable to take the photo of the check but my phone had 3 percent battery left. I asked the caller if there was any other possibility where I could just send the checks after XXXX XXXX  when I get home. They ignored my question and said, Can you do this immediately?. As I was being rushed to make the deposit before XXXX XXXX I didnt notice that I had sent the deposit with a hold notice warning until I sent the screenshot of proof to the caller. They then continued to rush me to deposit the remaining checks before XXXX XXXX. I knew I wouldnt be able to do this due to the difficulty of making a deposit without a laptop as well as taking a steady photo of the check in a moving car. I apologized to the caller saying I wouldnt be able to complete this action. Their demeanor changed. They were no longer in a rush. The caller then told me to continue to finish the process tomorrow instead. 
Thursday, XX/XX/scrub>XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX I received a new message from the caller saying that the funds should be in my account again. At that time, I was still asleep. I finally replied back at XXXX XXXX They asked to see a screenshot of proof of the funds in my account. As I log into my bank account to take the screenshot of proof, it says that my bank account has been locked. I told the caller about the situation but they only told me to check with my bank and let them know. As I called the bank, they told me that my account has been permanently locked. I was left speechless, unable to think of anything to say. I was in shock. Immediately after my call with the bank, I messaged the scammer asking if this has happened in a similar situation before. I asked this because of course I couldnt be the only person they asked to do this to. Again, they ignored my question. They asked if I had a different bank. I replied back saying that I didnt have another bank. This was the only bank that I have banked with since Ive turned XXXX. As I continued to ask more questions about my bank account, they continued to ask if there was any other bank account that I could use, such as a family member. I denied their request to use another bank since I didnt want this situation to happen to anyone else. As I attempted to get answers from them, they continued to ignore me and ask if there was another bank available. When I replied back that there is no other bank available, they have blocked my number and disabled their XXXX profile. 
XX/XX/scrub>XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  my mom asked about the check that had been issued to me. My mom continued to ask about the check out of excitement since {$500.00} would be a big help for me to save for my plane ticket to visit my family in the XXXX. During this time, I told my mom that I havent received a reply back. At this moment, my mom became suspicious of the check and decided to check her email for any notifications from the bank. From there, thats when my mom found out that she received multiple emails regarding suspicious activity happening in my bank account. After reading the emails, my mom then told me to inquire about my account balance by calling the number on the back of my debit card. As I called the number labeled on the card, the bank replied back saying that the account has been XXXX. 
XX/XX/year>, At this time, my mom and I decided to go to the branch at Bank of America in XXXX XXXX XXXX From there we went to talk to one of the bankers at the counter about our situation. The lady told us that we can only deposit but not withdraw from my account. After that, she provided us with a number from the fraud department and we immediately called the number. Once we called the fraud department, they told us that there was nothing they could do except to go back to the bank to talk to a branch manager. 
XX/XX/year>, My mom and I went back to the bank to talk to the manager. When we talked to the manager about our situation, they replied back saying that there is nothing that they can do. From there, my mom and I decided to go back home to do our research of what we can do in a situation like this. Thats when we found out we would file a claim through the CFPB.

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