Consumer complaint received 2024-07-29 00:00:00
Product: Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports — Credit reporting
Issue: Problem with a company's investigation into an existing problem — Difficulty submitting a dispute or getting information about a dispute over the phone
Company: Experian Information Solutions Inc.
State: PA

Complaint narrative:
My Experian account was hacked because their Customer Service agents willingly let the bad actor make changes to my account over the phone. I am recently a victim of identity theft and to combat this I created an Experian account to freeze my credit report and review credit inquiries in my name. The account was created on XX/XX/year>. On XX/XX/year>, the offender socially engineered their customer service department to gain access to my account. Subsequently, the password, phone number and email address on file were changed and a XXXX XXXX bank account was opened in my name. 

I have had to call them several times to take action against this unauthorized behavior. I have been transferred back and forth between their various departments and eventually got the XXXX XXXX bank account closed. The remaining step is to regain access to the XXXX services account that was hacked. On XX/XX/year>, I was told that my case would need to be escalated higher and I would receive communication within XXXX hours, which never happened. On XX/XX/year>, I reached back out via phone where I was informed that communication was sent, however, their higher level team that was supposed to be handling my case sent the communication to the fraudulent email on file. The problem with this is I have explicitly told many of the Experian employees over the phone that it was a fraudulent email and provided the appropriate address to communicate with me. 

They replied to the original email ( sent to the offender ) but this time addressed it to my actual email address, which allows me to see the email chain and proves that they sent to the fraudster and not me. They only provide identity verification through fax or mail and it is my responsibility to prove my identity, when their processes allowed the offender to take hold of my account and attempt to open a bank account in my name. I know this to be true because a representative on the phone informed me that is how the compromise occurred. In their communication with me they stated that I could simply reply back to the email with any questions or further clarification. It has been over a week since I replied with no response. Why is it so easy for an offender to socially engineer their way into an account, but true account holders experiencing identity fraud are made to jump through hoops and get ignored when they try to regain control of their accounts? 

Experian has continuously put me at further risk of compromise and financial loss by their negligence and inappropriate execution of their procedures. I have been left in the dark and every time I call, the customer service representative tells me I have to speak to the higher level team, which has been totally unresponsive. 

I just want to regain access to my account and feel that this whole situation has been entirely mishandled and this led to countless hours spent trying to regain access to an account that they let get compromised. Their actions are not in line with their marketing and do not provide any assistance to people experiencing identity fraud. In fact, they are making it easier for offenders to commit fraud.

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