Consumer complaint received 2024-11-02 00:00:00
Product: Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports — Credit reporting
Issue: Credit monitoring or identity theft protection services — Problem canceling credit monitoring or identify theft protection service
Company: ALLY FINANCIAL INC.
State: FL

Complaint narrative:
On Friday night, XX/XX/year>, I received a phone call while at dinner from a representative saying she was from " XXXX  XXXX XXXX ''. I do not have a XXXX  XXXX XXXX card. She said that I had opened an account two days prior, and she knew all of my personal information ; said that someone had tried to purchase a {$1500.00} item on XXXX and a {$250.00} item on XXXX, neither of which were anything I would have purchased. She said the purchases came from XXXX XXXX. I am in XXXX. 

The woman said she would cancel the card and purchases, but that my accounts are likely in jeopardy due to Identity theft, and she gave me case number XXXX. She then transferred me to a department she called the " CFPB '', and a man named XXXX XXXX answered the call. XXXX XXXX said he was with XXXX XXXX XXXX. I was careful to give him NO information about me or my accounts, but he knew everything anyway. If he had been looking to invade my accounts, he already had all the information he needed to do so, so when he read everything to me perfectly, icluding my date of birth and SSN, I realized he is likely legitimate. 

XXXX XXXX told me that there have been many recent breaches of senior citizens, and I am a XXXX XXXX XXXX man on fixed income. He painstakingly explained a process by which XXXX had identified XXXX potential attempted breaches of XXXX of my credit card accounts. XXXX of the accounts were with XXXX XXXX and XXXX with Ally Bank. He read back to me the exact amount I owe and the maximum credit limits on all XXXX accounts. He also read back to me the first XXXX digits of each card, saying that the last XXXX digits were **** to him, and that I should check my cards to match that information to the XXXX digits and amounts that he read to me. I have done so, and his information is correct. 

XXXX XXXX then explained that he would immediately send a letter to BOTH Ally Bank and XXXX XXXX to notify them of these attempted breaches and tell them to shut the accounts down and freeze the amount owed, pending investigation. He told me NOT to simply cancel the cards because any re-issue is likely to be breached as well. 

XXXX XXXX then explained that I should not make any further payments to any of these XXXX accounts. He said balances would be frozen, and I would owe nothing for 18 months. After 18 months, pending review of my case, I would then be re-issued accounts at interest rates no higher than 5 %, with the current balance as the new balance on these new accounts. He explained that all XXXX accounts were at extreme high interest rates ( I had no idea how high ) and that such high interest rate accounts are generally not secure and easier to be hacked. 

So this morning, Saturday XX/XX/XXXX, I called both XXXX  XXXX and Ally Bank to no avail. I was told that they had no record of any letter from XXXX XXXX, but that since it was a weekend, it is likely they would not be aware until Monday anyway. I can not accept such a cavalier answer to such an important issue. Therefore, I am writing to you. 

Is XXXX XXXX truly with CFPB, and is the information he gave me accurate? Should I, indeed, act in the manner he suggested by not paying any further on these accounts and await resolution that would come as he said it would? As you can imagine, my anxiety level is extremely high. 

How can I be sure that I am protected from other security/identity theft breaches? I have already pledged to myself to no longer use XXXX or XXXX XXXX. I would very much appreciate a call from your office. 

Thank you so much. 

XXXX XXXX XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation