Consumer complaint received 2024-12-18 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Closing an account — Company closed your account
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: TX

Complaint narrative:
On XX/XX/XXXX, my wife and I ( shared checking and savings account with Bank of America ), realized that we were the victim of employment identity theft. 

My wife had been contacted by a recruiter on XXXX posing a recruiter for a company and was offered an interview and then later a position by this fraudulent company. As part of her " onboarding '' process, she supplied our bank account checking routing and account number for direct deposit, as well as her SSN, and copy of her driver 's license. After completing this " onboarding '' paperwork, the fraudulent company sent us a fraudulent check for {$14000.00} that was said to be earmarked for funds for equipment for her to work from home. We completed a mobile deposit through Bank of America for our savings account that was immediately flagged and we began to realize that we were being scammed. 

We called Bank of America immediately and reported the check as a possible fraud and froze our checking account. We spoke to a customer representative in the fraud department that told us this check had been marked as fraudulent. 

The next day, XX/XX/XXXX, my wife and I went to a local Bank of America to speak to a representative in-person. Her name was XXXX XXXX. We opened a new checking account and we were able to get money out of the compromised checking account with her assistance. Additionally, she made calls while we were present ( not sure exactly to which departments ), to inform them that we were alerting this check as fraudulent so that our account would not be suspended. We received confirmation from XXXX XXXX that our account would not be suspended. 

Six days later, on XX/XX/XXXX, we found that we were logged out of our Bank of America accounts and our debit cards were not working. We called Bank of America who alerted us that our checking and savings account had been suspended and that we would not receive the funds in either of those accounts until an internal investigation by Bank of America had been completed. We were given an estimated date of XX/XX/XXXXXXXX  for completion of the investigation and that our funds would be sent by mail the following business day. 

At this time, we are unable to determine how much money is in either our checking and savings account as we have been logged out of the mobile app, and Bank of America customer representatives will not tell us how much money we have in the accounts. We estimate about {$2000.00} in total are in the checking and savings account. I will be receiving a direct deposit for ~ {$4000.00} on Friday, XX/XX/XXXX, from my employer, that I am not going to have access to until the completion of our investigation, nearly 40 days from today. My wife might also have a direct deposit going into this account on XX/XX/XXXX for ~ {$1600.00}, but we are unsure if her direct deposit will be changed in time. Since we have been logged out of these accounts, we have no way of knowing that our deposits will have actually made it to the account as well. 

We are very frustrated with the lack of communication from Bank of America and concerned that we can not access our money. We rightfully and quickly reported this scam and the fraudulent check to Bank of America to make them aware and prevent the exact situation we are in now. Any help or guidance would be generously appreciated.

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 monetary relief