Consumer complaint received 2024-08-22 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Problem using a debit or ATM card
Company: UNITED SERVICES AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION
State: TX

Complaint narrative:
I was the victim of an employment scam in late XXXX XXXX, XXXX. I want to preface this by saying that I had been let go from my previous job in early XXXX and I was incredibly desperate to find work, since I was going to be moving out of state soon. That also meant my options for employment were limited so, I jumped on the first thing I could that could transfer to another state with me. I was also having car troubles at the time and wasn't able to travel far to find in person work ( because you know, when it rains, it pours of course. ) It all started when I received an email on XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX from someone that I thought to be a recruiter. Her email name was XXXX XXXX ( email looked like it came from Indeed : XXXX ). She went on to explain that the company " XXXX XXXX XXXX '' was looking for a Remote Customer Service Representative and that my resume caught their attention on Indeed and XXXX. I thought nothing of this since my previous role was in Recruiting and I knew how all of the processes worked. She stated that I would need to reach out to the hiring manager for the position, " XXXX XXXX '' ( email : XXXX ). I reached out to XXXX to express interest in an interview a few days later on XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX after doing some research on the ACTUAL XXXX  company, thinking I was set to go. 

XXXX replied to my email on XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX. It just said thank you for your interest and went on to explain the role in more detail, it even had a job description attached to the email. I read through everything and figured I'd be a perfect fit for the job so I went for it. I emailed XXXX back on XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX saying I'd like to get set up for an interview since I knew my skills would be very useful on their team. XXXX then replied on XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX saying he'd be happy to get me set up for an interview on XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX. The email included an agenda for the interview which was broken into sections. The first section was labeled as XXXX XXXX  Chat : General Overview of Company and Role, Introduction of Interviewee. The second section was labeled as Timed Questionnaire via Text : Link will be provided through XXXX XXXX. I, then, was unable to interview with him that next day due to some personal issues and had to reschedule for the XXXX, same time of XXXX. 


The interview time came around so I hopped on XXXX  with the link that was provided in the email sent to me the day prior. I was expecting some kind of phone or video interview but was surprised to find out that it was text based. I didn't think anything of it, being that the role was for a technology company and maybe they had figured out how to save time interviewing entry-level candidates with AI. So, XXXX and I chatted for a bit about the position and then I was sent a questionnaire on XXXX Forms. It just asked typical interview questions : previous role, what to do in ( insert stressful situation here ), etc. and then I sent it back to XXXX. He told me they'd be in touch with their decision and reached back out later in the day to let me know that I had gotten the job. I was so excited that I would FINALLY be able to have money coming back in after not working for over a month at that point and not having any backup savings/living paycheck to paycheck. I was asked to submit my " new candidate information '' to the " XXXX '' email so that they could begin the onboarding process. I received my " official '' employment contract the next day, the XXXX, at XXXX. The email included attached documents for me to fill out : a W4 form, direct deposit authorization, emergency contact form, and my employment agreement. 

Now, my employment agreement stated that I would not be starting work until XX/XX/XXXX. So, I figured I had a few days to think on my decision and fill out all of the necessary documents. I was trying to do a lot of gig work at the time to keep the money for bills rolling in and waited until the last minute to fill out the onboarding paperwork. I sent it back to XXXX and CC 'd the XXXX email on XX/XX/XXXX around XXXX. I was told to reach out to XXXX on teams to discuss the next steps for my pre-employment check and onboarding. This is when the discussion of work equipment began. 

Again, please keep in mind, I was desperate for this job. I also had never done any sort of remote job before so I was unaware of the process that SHOULD happen for obtaining company equipment. I was told I would be receiving a check that would be sent to my email for me to deposit and send to the vendors for my hardware. My naive self went with it and deposited the first check on XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX. It was {$2500.00}. However, since I had just deposited some of my own cash into USAA with a money order, they put {$210.00} on hold from the XXXX XXXX. I told XXXX about the issue and he just said to send what I could ( {$2200.00} ) on XXXX to the vendor ( XXXX XXXX ). That transfer failed around XXXX. I was then told to try another vendor and that XXXX would communicate with them to get my hardware ordered. That was sent to a " XXXX XXXX '' I was also told not to put any sort of information into the description, just my name and to send it as if it was for personal use so that it didn't slow down the transaction. I did as I was told and the money was sent. I then was told I'd also need to order an XXXX and some other extra equipment so I'd need to deposit another check. That one was for {$2300.00} and was sent to me on XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX. I got it deposited and was told to send the funds to the XXXX XXXX  account again. That time, the transfer failed. So, I was told to try two more vendors to get the rest of the equipment paid for. The first was on XXXX and was in the amount of {$1300.00} to a " XXXX '' and the second was {$1000.00} on XXXX to a " XXXX XXXX '' since I could not send more than {$1000.00} in a day with XXXX. 

At this point, I thought I was all set and that my equipment would be arriving any day now. Obviously, I was very wrong. I started to get suspicious when the next morning rolled around and there was nothing at my door. I contacted XXXX about this and was told I'd need to deposit ANOTHER check and send MORE money to seemingly random people. 

I couldn't believe what I was being told. So, I took to the internet to research the company in more detail and I stumbled across a XXXX forum about this ENTIRE SCAM. I was literally flabbergasted and felt so violated. I immediately sprang into action to try to protect myself from any further damages. Unfortunately, in my haste to do so, I blocked XXXX on Teams which inherently deleted our messages back and forth. However, I have ALL of the other documentation, emails, some screen recordings of the conversation from before I blocked him, screenshots of what I could see in our photo sharing space after blocking him, etc. That is NOT enough for USAA, apparently. The checks returned a few days later, obviously. I was able to get a refund from XXXX but then the scammer turned back around and refunded the money I had sent to them initially so my XXXX account was then negative, forcing me to go in and send more funds to get it back to neutral. XXXX and USAA are basically intertwined so I called USAA ( probably for the millionth time ) to discuss disputing the XXXX charge. Come to find out, XXXX offers ZERO protection for cases like this. Even the USAA rep was surprised by this and we both came to the conclusion we would NEVER be using that platform again. I called USAA so many times and got my disputes denied so many times, most of them being almost instantly denied after getting off the phone with them for the hundredth time, even with the ample amount of proof I have of this interaction. I don't think they looked into this at all. I think they just got sick of having to deal with me. They claimed it was my fault because I " knowingly and willingly '' sent the funds to these people. HOW is it knowingly and willingly when you don't know that it's SCAMMERS on the other side? I was just trying to make an honest living so I could pay my bills. Make it make sense.

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