Citi Bank branch in Singapore’s central business district on February 12, 2018.
Ore Huiying | Bloomberg | Getty Images
New York Attorney General Letitia James sued Citibank for allegedly failing to protect and compensate victims of electronic fraud, according to a news release Tuesday.
The lawsuit alleges that Citi lacks strong protections to prevent unauthorized account takeovers, misleads fraud victims and unlawfully denies refunds. The attorney general’s office said Citi’s alleged failures cost New York account holders millions of dollars and, in some cases, their entire savings.
“Banks are supposed to be the safest place to store money, yet Citi’s negligence has allowed fraudsters to steal millions of dollars from hard-working people,” James said in a statement. “Many New Yorkers rely on online banking to pay bills or save for big milestones, and if a bank cannot secure its customers’ accounts, it is failing in its most basic duty.”
The lawsuit involves certain individuals who had thousands of dollars stolen from their accounts and said the bank did not refund them.
In a statement, Citi said the bank was working “extremely hard” to prevent threats and help customers who fall victim to fraud.
“Banks are not obliged to compensate their customers if those customers follow the instructions of criminals and the banks cannot see any signs that the customers are being deceived. However, given the increase in wire fraud across the industry in recent years, we have taken a proactive approach.” “Taking action to protect our customers’ accounts with leading security protocols, intuitive fraud prevention tools, clear insights into the latest scams, and customer awareness and education,” the company said in a statement. “Our actions have significantly reduced our customers’ losses to wire fraud, and we remain committed to investing in fraud prevention measures to help our customers protect their accounts from new threats.”
James alleged in the lawsuit that Citi must compensate victims of fraud under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act.
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2024-01-30 15:49:46
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