Consumer complaint received 2024-03-26 00:00:00
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — Mobile or digital wallet
Issue: Fraud or scam — 
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  XX/XX/XXXX - I saw a XXXX communication pop-up and i just watched it for a while without engaging/texting. It was entitled XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. That group stopped communicating on XX/XX/XXXX. XX/XX/XXXX another group formed with similar names on XXXX. XXXX XXXX made an announcement on XX/XX/XXXX as a community admin. at XXXX. Community admins in these groups are the only ones who can make comments. This is what she said : ( copied from the XXXX @ XXXX am ), her number XXXX XXXX XXXX. 
XXXX called " XXXX XXXX  XXXX XXXX ''. Good morning, everyone! I wanted to inform you that XXXX XXXX 
XXXX XXXX has been quite busy since his return to XXXX, so I made the decision to suspend the old group and create this new one after confirming the final time with him. I have some exciting news to share with you all. At the request of the members, XXXX XXXX will be sharing his experience in the financial industry with you starting next week. He will cover topics such as trading strategies and stock selection skills in the stock market. Also, please be patient regarding the SMCI recommended by XXXX XXXX. I will keep you updated with the latest news in this group. That was the very first communication I saw and I did not engage in conversation at any point except to put " likes '' on different post. I continued to watch and make some comments when my text was not restricted but did not fully engage. XXXX reached out to me Friday, XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX am and introduced herself asking me how was my day? We then proceeded to go through setting up an account with XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX XXXX. She told me she lived in XXXX XXXX and she would work long hours on the weekend proclaiming that she was preparing for next weeks trade. XX/XX/XXXX ; I decided to do my first trade after setting up a XXXX account with a small amount of {$500.00}. XXXX thoroughly instructed me step by step taking screen shots and she would tell me where to click. I received a small trade signal and through XXXX could see my first trade profit at {$5000.00} with XXXX on the XXXX pair, checking the XXXX analysis and video/voice recordings from XXXX XXXX on the market. After that I was convinced that it was real XXXX trading and through small amounts first, I decided to set up XXXX XXXX XXXX who had locked my account and returned my money because they suspected fraud. Sunday XX/XX/XXXX XXXX from XXXX @ XXXX, posted this on XXXX XXXX : Happy Sunday guys, I have created an additional trading group and have added you all to that group. XXXX XXXX has also been added to that trading group. Starting next week, he will be leading the XXXX trades in that group. The new group was called " XXXX XXXX XXXX '' This is the group that I was more engaged in even though admins were the only ones who could make comments and about 30 other people who were proclaiming to be high investors. 
This group began trading in XXXX market claiming returns of 20 %, 50 % as high as 240 % returns. It was convincing to see other traders having some of the same issues and questions as I did. Eventually thru a series of a few wire transfers, I invested {$90000.00} because they were promising medium to large returns based on what level ( Exclusive and Platinum A, XXXX, C ) you invested in. I was in the first level XXXX A. XXXX XXXX XXXX send recorded updates about the market and would send us market insights on the investments we were making. The last investment cycle for me was XX/XX/XXXX where XXXX said she would not give me anymore trade signals and that I would need to start withdrawing my money. I said okay and then she mentioned taxes need to be paid first before any withdrawals. 
contacted XXXX and they pushed back too saying that I could not release any money until 15 % taxes were paid on my they profit of # XXXX taxes would be {$37000.00}. I kept asking about taxes and how does that work and XXXX said to stop fixating on taxes and increase my base to Plan B ( minimum $ XXXX ). I suggested that if they paying taxes on my behalf then just take the amount from my are profits and net deposit and send me the remaining balance. 
XXXX XXXX said no and that's not how the company works, then she became impatient and texted for me to withdraw my money but first pay taxes. I was victimized because when I tried to withdraw my money even a small portion- it was told to me that I would have to pay taxes This appeared like a trading platform that any investors would invest first. in and the information about the stock market was somewhat accurate. Plus, the charts were the same charts I currently use another trading program. There was not a lot of pressure to invest but when it came to withdraw money XXXX XXXX would constantly ask if I am making a net deposit to add XXXX my account. At some point I stopped making deposits, because it to was making our budget too tight to manage. I kept asking that she could withdraw the amount from my net deposit and then just give me the balance and keep the profits of which I later learned that the trading was all done with fake money and fake trades. My XXXX app stopped working too and XXXX XXXX gave me a personal download of the app, I later learned that the developer was a company called She faked being sympathetic with me and just simply kept saying that I could increase my level to Plan B which is a minimum of {$300000.00} and then all taxes would be forgiven. She would then return all of my profits and my net deposit. My dialogue through XXXX continues with XXXX XXXX and the group stopped communicating around XX/XX/XXXX, names stayed the same but the photos have changed : men photos are now women and vice versa. I can still access my XXXX XXXX account and XXXX XXXX XXXX platform. 
I requested help from Bank of America on XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX claim # XXXX and XXXX and I signed and scanned an returned a SCAM Victim Acknowledgement Forms. 

XX/XX/XXXX @ XXXX wired {$500.00} to XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Bank XXXX wallet ID : XXXX XX/XX/XXXX @ XXXX, wired {$2200.00} to XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Bank XXXX XXXX ID : XXXX XX/XX/XXXX @ XXXX wired {$5000.00} to XXXX ( Via XXXX XXXX XXXX Bank XXXX XXXX ID : XXXX XX/XX/XXXX {$2100.00} Bonus given from XXXX XXXX from XXXX XXXX for opening up a new account. 
XX/XX/XXXX {$970.00} Bonus given from XXXX XXXX from XXXX XXXX for opening up a new account. 
XX/XX/XXXX @ XXXX wired {$40000.00} to XXXX ( via XXXX XXXX XXXX Bank XXXX wallet ID : XXXX ( a mistake in the transfer happened ) and XXXX XXXX me this wallet ID to use instead : XXXX XXXX XX/XX/XXXX @ XXXX wired {$40000.00} to XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX acct # XXXX routing # XXXX XXXX XXXX ( BIC ) 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