New York sues Citibank for alleged failure to reimburse fraud victims

New York Legal professional Basic Letitia James sued Citibank for allegedly failing to guard and reimburse victims of digital fraud, based on a Tuesday launch.

The swimsuit claims that Citi doesn’t have sturdy protections in place to stop unauthorized account takeovers, misleads victims of fraud and illegally denies reimbursements. The legal professional normal’s workplace stated the alleged failure on Citi’s half has price New York account holders hundreds of thousands of {dollars}, and in some instances, their whole life financial savings.

“Banks are supposed to be the safest place to keep money, yet Citi’s negligence has allowed scammers to steal millions of dollars from hardworking people,” James stated in an announcement. “Many New Yorkers rely on online banking to pay bills or save for big milestones, and if a bank cannot secure its customers’ accounts, they are failing in their most basic duty.”

The lawsuit contains particular individuals who had hundreds of {dollars} stolen from their accounts and stated the financial institution didn’t reimburse them.

In an announcement, Citi stated the financial institution “works extremely hard” to stop threats and help prospects who develop into victims of fraud.

“Banks are not required to make customers whole when those customers follow criminals’ instructions and banks can see no indication the customers are being deceived. However, given the industry-wide surge in wire fraud during the last several years, we’ve taken proactive steps to safeguard our clients’ accounts with leading security protocols, intuitive fraud prevention tools, clear insights about the latest scams, and driving client awareness and education,” the corporate stated in an announcement. “Our actions have reduced client wire fraud losses significantly, and we remain committed to investing in fraud prevention measures to help our clients secure their accounts against emerging threats.”

James alleged within the lawsuit that Citi should reimburse victims of fraud below the Digital Fund Switch Act.