Consumer complaint received 2025-04-16 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement — Credit card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase on your statement
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: IL

Complaint narrative:
I am writing to formally file a complaint against Bank of America for its failure to prevent, investigate, and remediate clear and egregious fraudulent activity on my credit card account. What I experienced was not only a sophisticated scam but also a shocking display of negligence on the part of the bank. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, while walking in XXXX, I was approached by XXXX individuals wearing badges resembling those from the XXXX XXXXXXXX Department. They claimed to be affiliated with the government and asked for a {$5.00} donation to support the family of a deceased child. I agreed to donate {$5.00} in cash, but they insisted the donation must be made via credit card due to government policy. 

Trusting their appearance and story, I reluctantly handed over XXXX Bank of America XXXX cardclearly authorizing only a {$5.00} transaction. XXXX of the individuals tapped my card multiple times on his phone. XXXX also asked to use my phone, stating XXXX needed a verification code for the donation. While I was distracted writing down my information on a form they provided, the other individuals diverted my attention. 

Immediately after the encounter, I noticed that the Bank of America XXXX app had been deleted from my phone. Upon reinstalling it, I discovered XXXX unauthorized charges of {$3000.00} each, totaling {$21000.00}, all sent to a personal XXXX account under the name XXXX XXXX I have never heard of. 

Bank of Americas handling of this situation has been nothing short of outrageous. 

First, these transactions exhibit numerous red flags that should have immediately triggered a fraud alert : * My cards credit limit is {$13000.00}, yet charges totaling {$21000.00} were somehow processed. 
* I rarely use this card for purchases over $ XXXX identical high-value transactions should have stood out. 
* All funds were sent to a personal XXXX account, which is highly unusual and suspicious. 
* The transactions occurred in rapid succession and clearly deviated from my typical spending behavior. 
Despite all these glaring indicators of fraud, Bank of America failed to stop the transactions or even flag them as suspicious. 

To make matters worse, when I filed a fraud dispute, Bank of America rejected it twiceclaiming my card was present during the transactions. This reasoning is both lazy and irresponsible. The fact that my card was physically present does not mean I authorized these charges. I was scammed. This was clearly a coordinated, high-pressure scam involving card skimming and digital manipulation, and Bank of America has refused to recognize that fact. 

After my fraud claim was denied, I reopened the case as a billing dispute. Even then, Bank of America failed to provide a temporary credit to my accounteven after 10 days. Without a temporary credit, I have been unable to use the card, since my balance shows {$21000.00} against a {$13000.00} limit. This situation is financially paralyzing. The bank has told me it could take XXXX full billing cycles to resolve the dispute, which means I will not have access to my credit card for monthsthrough no fault of my own. 

To make matters worse, the full {$21000.00} is reflected in my current statement balance. I have no clarity on whether this amount is being reported to the credit bureaus, or whether I am expected to pay itdespite the fact that these charges are completely fraudulent. 

In short, Bank of America has failed me on every level : * Failure to detect and prevent obvious fraud * Failure to properly investigate the fraud when reported * Failure to offer temporary credit during the dispute process * Failure to provide clear communication and support throughout this ordeal I trusted Bank of America to safeguard my finances. Instead, Ive been left with stress, uncertainty, and XXXX support in the face of blatant 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