Consumer complaint received 2026-05-12 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Trouble using your card — Can't use card to make purchases
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: PA

Complaint narrative:
What happened : I am a Citibank customer and my account currently has a fraud lock on it that Citibank has refused to resolve. The underlying problem is that the phone number on file for my account contains a typo and is not a number I can receive calls or texts at. The number Citibank currently has on file is XXXX. The correct number is XXXX. These two numbers differ by a single digit transposition, which makes it self-evident that this is a typo and not a fraudulent attempt to change contact information to an attacker-controlled number. When I attempted to correct this through a secure message in the Citibank mobile app, Citibank responded by placing a fraud lock on my account. Today, I made multiple attempts to resolve this by phone. I was hung up on twice after long holds. On a third call, I finally reached a representative who required me to answer a series of identity verification questions, which I did successfully. After answering those questions, the representative told me there was no path forward and that they could not help me, because Citibank 's identity verification procedure requires confirming a code sent to the phone number on file which is the number containing the typo that I am trying to correct. When I requested to be transferred to a supervisor, the representative indicated he would transfer me, then hung up on me instead. This creates an impossible loop : I can not update my phone number through the app ( the app message is what caused the fraud lock ), and I can not update it by phone ( because Citibank insists on verifying through the incorrect phone number, even after I successfully answered other identity verification questions, and because my request for supervisor escalation resulted in being disconnected ). In-person resolution is also not reasonably available to me. Citibank has no retail branch presence in XXXX, where I live only ATMs, which can not perform identity verification or account servicing. The nearest full-service Citibank branch is over an hour away from my home. Compounding the harm, I am currently working against a time-limited promotional spending requirement on my account. Reaching this spending threshold within the promotional window is contingent on having access to my account. I have attempted to ask Citibank whether they will extend the deadline or waive the requirement given that their own fraud lock is preventing me from using my account, but Citibank representatives have refused to discuss, confirm, or answer any question about the spending requirement or anything else about my account until they confirm my identity, which they have already told me they can not do. As a result, I am at risk of losing the value of the promotional offer through no fault of my own, solely because of Citibank 's refusal to use any identity verification method other than the phone number that contains their typo. I am effectively locked out of my own account, a Citibank representative has explicitly told me there is no path forward, my request for supervisor escalation was met with a hang-up, and Citibank 's inaction is causing me direct financial harm on a deadline.

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