Consumer complaint received 2026-05-21 00:00:00
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — Domestic (US) money transfer
Issue: Fraud or scam — 
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: TX

Complaint narrative:
We are submitting this complaint regarding a fraudulent wire transfer involving American Express National Bank and the handling of recovery efforts after immediate notification of fraud. On XX/XX/year>, at approximately XXXX XXXX., we initiated a wire transfer in the amount of approximately {$210000.00} after receiving what appeared to be legitimate wiring instructions from individuals fraudulently impersonating XXXX XXXX in connection with our real estate closing. At the time, we reasonably believed the communications and wire instructions were authentic and associated with the legitimate title company handling our transaction. We later discovered that the emails and wiring instructions were fraudulent and that the receiving account was not affiliated with the legitimate XXXX XXXX company. Upon realizing the fraud, we acted immediately. On XX/XX/year> at our closing, at approximately XXXX XXXX., we contacted our bank, XXXX XXXX XXXX, and initiated an urgent fraud claim, recall request, and freeze request on the funds. XXXX XXXX XXXX advised us that the claim status was collection pending while recovery efforts were ongoing. We were later informed that the claim had been closed ; however, XXXX XXXX XXXX has since reopened the matter for reconsideration. We also immediately reported the matter to the FBI/XXXX and the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX To date, only approximately {$18000.00} has been recovered, leaving nearly {$190000.00} unrecovered. We recently spoke directly with an FBI representative, who advised that they are attempting to assemble information for potential review by the U.S. Attorneys Office. This situation has been absolutely devastating to our family emotionally and financially. We understand that fraud investigations can take time ; however, the lack of urgency, communication, empathy, and transparency we have experienced from both XXXX XXXX XXXX and American Express National Bank throughout this process has been shocking and deeply discouraging, especially given how quickly we reported the fraud after discovering it. We are extremely concerned about the handling of the receiving account at American Express National Bank after notice of fraud was provided. Given the speed with which notification and recall efforts were initiated, we are requesting a full accounting and timeline from American Express National Bank regarding when the receiving account was frozen or restricted, when recall and recovery requests were received and acted upon, whether funds had already been withdrawn or transferred prior to action being taken, what actions were taken to attempt to preserve or recover the wired funds after notification of fraud, and whether suspicious activity reviews were initiated on the receiving account. As consumers who acted in less than 24 hours of discovering this fraud, we believe we did everything reasonably possible to mitigate the loss and are seeking transparency, accountability, and any remaining opportunity for recovery. A fair resolution would include a complete written timeline and accounting of actions taken by American Express National Bank after notice of fraud, disclosure of whether internal fraud protocols were followed, any additional recovery efforts available, and consideration of reimbursement or other remedies given the rapid reporting of the fraud and substantial unrecovered losses.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation