Consumer complaint received 2025-09-04 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Problem using a debit or ATM card
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: NY

Complaint narrative:
To whom it may concern, I am documenting the events leading up to two fraudulent transactions on my checking account. The latter of these could have been avoided if the bank had deactivated my debit card as requested, as claimed by the agents I spoke with. 
On XX/XX/XXXX, I realized that my physical debit card was missing when I attempted to enter my card information into one of my money transfer apps to bring my Bank of America checking account out of the negative. After this discovery, I opened the Bank of America mobile app and noticed a check deposit of {$960.00} had been made to my account at the XXXX XXXX location on XX/XX/XXXX. This deposit was set to be available for withdrawal on the XXXX. Since I did not make this transaction, I immediately called Bank of America to contact their Fraud Department. I called three times at XXXX XXXX  and XXXX XXXX, and I finally connected with someone during my XXXX XXXX  call. 
When I spoke to the representative, they informed me that they could not take action at the moment since the check had not yet been processed. They advised me to call back once the check was processed to file a fraud claim. I also asked if they could deactivate the stolen debit card and issue me a virtual card in the meantime until I received the physical card in the mail. They confirmed that they could do this, and I received an email to activate the virtual card before ending the call. 
However, I later realized that I never received a confirmation email regarding the deactivation of the previous card. Additionally, I noticed that the last four digits of my virtual card were the same as those of the stolen card, which raised concerns. I decided to call back at XXXX XXXX  to confirm that my debit card had indeed been deactivated despite not receiving an email, and the virtual card shared the same last four digits. The bank agent reassured me that the system showed the previous card was deactivated and that the similarity in the last four digits of the new virtual card was coincidental. After this call, I still did not receive an email confirmation that the debit card was deactivated. 
On XX/XX/XXXX, I noticed that the check had not been processed, so I called the bank again to ensure that whoever had my card could not withdraw the money deposited from that fraudulent check. I called at XXXX XXXX  and opted into a caller waitlist. I missed a call at XXXX XXXX, and then another at XXXX XXXX  before I had to disconnect due to poor reception. At XXXX XXXX, I received yet another call, but we lost connection after two minutes. Following that, I received an automated message asking me to verify if I had attempted to request my balance at XXXX XXXX. 
The next morning, XX/XX/XXXX, I checked my phone to see if the check had been processed so I could file the fraud claim, but I discovered that {$950.00} had been withdrawn from my account at another Bank of America on XXXX XXXX in XXXX. I called the bank at XXXX XXXX  and transferred to the Fraud Department to investigate how the money had been withdrawn after I had requested the deactivation of my stolen debit card. The first agent I spoke with was not very helpful ; they informed me that they only had records of my one call and no records of me reporting my card as lost or stolen. I then requested to speak to a manager, who told me that despite my email giving access to a virtual card, that was not sufficient proof to verify that I attempted to prevent fraud. When I asked for her supervisor, she laughed and said I would still be liable, transferring me to a regular agent outside the Fraud Department.

I then asked this agent to connect me to their supervisor, which they did. Upon reaching the supervisor, I informed him of my previous encounter with the fraud department supervisor. He reassured me that he would file a report and could see all my call records with timestamps, verifying all my interactions with any department. He asked if I knew who might have taken my card. I explained that I didn't know, as my current roommate has a lot of traffic in the house, and my wallet is with me at all times except when I sleep. He then asked if I had changed my address on the app, and I confirmed that I had, noting that the banks involved in these transactions were close to my current address. He also asked if I memorized my PIN or if I had it written down somewhere, to which I responded that I had it written in a notepad that is stored away and not accessible to anyone else.

He then needed to make some calls to figure out how to handle the situationwhether to file the withdrawal claim first or the deposit claim. He decided to file the withdrawal claim first to refund the money, followed by the deposit claim, so my account would not go negative by processing it the other way around. He also asked if I wanted to freeze my account, which would allow money to come in but prevent any money from going out. I confirmed that I wanted this done, explaining that my checking account had only been open this long because I had been expecting this years tax return.

I felt it was necessary to document and file additional claims to protect myself, as this is not the first time this bank has allowed fraudulent transactions and sided with those who committed the fraud. Previously, the bank sided with XXXX, claiming that I authorized the fees by providing my debit PIN during an XXXX XXXX  transaction, which I never authorized. A statement made by one of the bank 's supervisors also prompted me to take these extra precautions

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