Consumer complaint received 2025-07-07 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Problem using a debit or ATM card
Company: NAVY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION
State: OK

Complaint narrative:
Dispute of Unauthorized Withdrawals Request for CFPB Assistance Between XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/year>, multiple unauthorized withdrawals were made from my checking account to a foreign merchant named XXXX XXXX XXXX. These charges were made in various amounts, large and small, and included multiple international transaction fees. Neither I nor my spouse made or authorized any of these transactions. We never heard of this merchant, did not receive any products or services, and did not share the debit card with anyone. 

At first, I did not notice the unauthorized charges because we do not check our account every day we trusted the bank to protect us and alert us if there was fraud. Also, the first week of each month is when our regular bills and automatic payments go out, so we assumed these withdrawals were part of normal scheduled payments. 

During this time, I was away on official XXXX  XXXX XXXX with limited phone and internet access. For security reasons, I can not share exact training details here, but I can confirm my XXXX XXXX status if needed. Because of this situation and my trust in the banks fraud protections, I did not catch the fraud immediately. 

When I finally reviewed the account closely, I realized a large amount of money had disappeared and found that the first fraudulent transaction dated back to XX/XX/XXXX. The scammer was able to keep withdrawing money because we were holding extra funds in that account to pay the remaining half of my legal fees by the end of XXXX. Normally, our balance would not have been high enough for repeated withdrawals to succeed. 

As soon as we realized what happened ( around XX/XX/XXXX ), we immediately froze the linked debit card and reported the fraud to the bank. 

The unauthorized withdrawals and fees occurred as follows : XX/XX/year> : {$650.00} XX/XX/year> : {$5.00} XX/XX/year> : {$10.00} XX/XX/year> : {$790.00} XX/XX/year> : {$540.00} Total stolen : {$2000.00} The bank did send a Fraud Alert text for a {$300.00} charge, but it was sent at XXXXXXXX XXXX  while I was asleep and away on XXXX  with limited phone access. I froze the card, contacted the fraud department, and answered every question they asked. 

However, the bank later denied my fraud claim, saying there was no error. They even suggested the money could have been withdrawn by family overseas but I have no family, friends, or connections outside the XXXX. I fully cooperated with the investigation and gave clear answers about why the claim should be honored. 

I am attaching screenshots of my answers, the initial denial, the Fraud Alert text, the voicemail from the fraud prevention department, and the bank statements showing the exact amounts and dates. 

Despite all this, the bank has failed to provide any real solution or refund. Over a month has passed with no resolution or meaningful support. The stolen money was set aside to pay legal fees by the end of XXXX, so this is causing serious financial stress. Mentally, this has been exhausting for my family.

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