Consumer complaint received 2026-05-05 00:00:00
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — Domestic (US) money transfer
Issue: Fraud or scam — 
Company: AMERIS BANCORP
State: GA

Complaint narrative:
I am reporting an impersonation scam that resulted in unauthorized financial loss through XXXX payments. In XXXX I was a legitimate purchaser of XXXX XXXX tickets through their official ticket lottery system, where I purchased 5 tickets. I reached out to what I thought was a mutual friend with someone that claimed to be a " XXXX XXXX XXXX '' for the XXXX XXXX about purchasing a 6th ticket. This XXXX XXXX XXXX claims to be associated with ticket upgrades and VIP access. The XXXX profile appeared legitimate and was connected to a mutual contact I know personally. I was told then that I could not purchase one ticket but could only upgrade the five. I said thank you and that was the end of that conversation. On XX/XX/year> I decided I did not need the 5 tickets and reached out to see if I could exchange the 5 tickets for 3 upgraded tickets. XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX told me that would be ok and told me my upgraded charge would be {$200.00}. I was told to send payment to the " cashier '' through XXXX to XXXX XXXX at XXXX. I was also asked not to put anything in the note section to speed up the process. When that payment would not go through I was given a second " cashier '' to pay named XXXX XXXX at XXXX. That payment also would not go through so I was given a third " cashier '' named XXXX XXXX at XXXX. That payment went through and I was told to give it XXXX hours and I would receive an email. I reached out to XXXX XXXX several times through XXXX because I had not received an email. I finally received an email on XX/XX/year> from XXXX saying that my upgrades were available and I would have to pay a {$100.00} transfer fee and to reach out to XXXX XXXX. I reached out to XXXX XXXX to do the transaction. I was told to use XXXX, not to put anything in the memo section so that it would speed up the process. The payment should be split up and send {$75.00} and then send {$28.00} to the " cashier '' XXXX XXXX XXXX. I questioned why the split up and why not send the whole thing. I was then told to send the whole amount to XXXX XXXX XXXX. After payment was sent I was told that management said that I can not upgrade XXXX seats and had to upgrade all 5 tickets. I was told that I would have to send {$320.00} more. So the individual changed the terms of the agreement and I realized I may be a victim of a scam. I reached out to my mutual friend and confirmed what I had feared. I contacted my bank immediately and filed a claim with XXXX through my bank and requested reversal of the XXXX payments. My bank reviewed the claim but denied reimbursement, stating that I authorized the transactions. However, the payments were made based on deception and impersonation, not a legitimate transaction. I have preserved screenshots of all conversations, payment confirmations, and evidence of the fake profile. I have also filed reports with the Federal Trade Commission and the FBI XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. I am requesting a full review of this case as an impersonation scam and reconsideration of reimbursement for the total loss of {$300.00}.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation