New York Attorney General Letitia James has taken legal action against Citibank, accusing the financial giant of failing to adequately protect and reimburse victims of fraud. The lawsuit alleges that Citibank’s lax security measures have resulted in New York customers losing millions of dollars, including their entire life savings, to scammers and hackers.
According to AG Letitia James, Citibank’s negligence has allowed scammers to steal millions of dollars from hardworking people, despite banks being expected to be the safest place to keep money. She has vowed not to overlook Citibank’s failure to protect customers’ funds.
The lawsuit alleges that Citibank has failed to prevent unauthorized account takeovers and wrongfully denied reimbursement to fraud victims. It also claims that the bank has provided evasive information about customer rights after account hacks. Furthermore, the lawsuit argues that Citibank has not fulfilled its promises on security and discounted crucial red flags.
Specific examples are provided in the lawsuit, including a New Yorker losing $40,000 from her retirement savings account to a scammer who used a fake text message from Citibank. Despite repeated attempts to contact the bank, the victim was denied a claim for fraud. Another case involves a customer losing $35,000 due to a scammer who changed online passwords, with Citibank allegedly failing to adequately validate the wire transfer and subsequently denying reimbursement.
In response, Citibank has claimed to adhere firmly to all laws and regulations related to wire transfers and defended its dedication to preventing threats and helping clients recover losses. The bank has asserted that clients are not guaranteed full reimbursement when they follow criminals’ instructions without indications of deception.
This legal action follows federal regulators’ charges last year that Citibank unlawfully discriminated against Armenian Americans on credit card applications based on their last names. It is also the latest action by Attorney General James to hold big banks accountable. Last month, Attorney General James led a coalition of 20 attorneys general in submitting letters to the federal Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau urging both agencies to ensure that national banks cooperate with investigations being conducted by state attorneys general.
Citigroup
Attorney general
Cybercrime
Source from www.ibtimes.com