Are US Bank accounts protected from fraud?

Have you seen a fraudulent US bank account opened in your name? Maybe you just saw other transactions you didn’t approve of. While there are laws that determine how banks have to respond to fraud, you might be on the receiving end of inaction. So what can you do when US Bank won’t act? We explain. 

Tired of talking in circles with customer service? File an official claim instead:

Are checking accounts protected from fraud?

Checking accounts have fraud protection because of Federal Reserve Regulation E. If there was fraud it’s up to you to report it immediately and once you notice the fraud and report it, this law stipulates that banks have to reimburse you for certain losses if they were unauthorized.

Do banks reimburse stolen money?

Typically speaking banks will reimburse for stolen money if you report it immediately. The FTC urges you to alert your bank within two days. A two-day time limit will limit your potential loss to $50 but if you wait 3 months, for example, you might be liable for up to $500 in losses. If you wait longer than three months, the bank will very likely not reimburse you for any stolen money and you will be financially responsible for any additional fees like wire transfers a scammer made fraudulently or overdraft fees.

Lost funds to scammers? Get US Bank to act:

Contact US Bank about fraud

When you see fraud or unauthorized transactions you need to contact the company immediately and tell them to close the account and remove it from your credit report. Reaching out immediately with a toll free number will help you reduce your liability. The Fair Credit billing Act  said you were only responsible for a maximum of $50 assuming you report it quickly.

1. Call them immediately to report any unauthorized charges, any lost cards, or stolen cards associated with the account. They are available 24 hours at 877.595.6256
2. Follow up by sending a letter officially. While the Fair Credit billing Act says you are only responsible for up to $50 in liability, sending a physical letter via certified mail will prove when you first reported these losses and you might need that later.
3. Monitor your statements after you have started the investigation to make sure that any unauthorized charges get removed.

After you report the issue to your financial institution, you should report any fraud to the Federal Trade Commission.

Do banks really investigate fraud?

Yes they really do. Sometimes it might not seem like they are doing a lot just because you don’t hear back from the bank or because they ask you a lot of questions. But this doesn’t mean they don’t take your claim seriously. This is simply part of the investigation. They need to know as much information as possible so that when they look at things like the IP address or the timestamp on the transactions they can tell whether you were involved or not.

Related: How to Spot and Report Illegal and Unfair Banking

What can a scammer do with my bank account number?

There are a lot of things a scammer can do:

• A scammer can open a fraudulent US Bank account in your name, apply for credit cards, change your mailing address, try to get loans, and damage your credit report.
• A scammer can order fraudulent checks directly from your bank account using your bank number and your routing number and then they can use those checks to make purchases or simply cash those checks and steal money directly from your account.
• A scammer can steal your money with this payment information the same way you use your bank account and routing number to pay your bills automatically. Only in this case the scammer sends money to a different account where they can keep it.

What to Do US Bank They Won’t Help

If you are the victim of fraud and you’ve done all of these things but you still aren’t getting the refund you deserve, or it seems like they aren’t really investigating the problem, we can help. At FairShake we can guide you through the process of consumer arbitration to get back what was stolen.