New York Attorney General Letitia James sued Citibank, accusing it of failing to protect victims of fraud and refusing to reimburse victims for their expenses.。

The lawsuit accuses Citibank of failing to implement strong online protections to deter unauthorized account takeovers, misleading account holders about their rights after accounts were hacked and funds stolen, and illegally refusing to reimburse fraud victims.。

The Attorney General's Office (OAG) found that Citibank failed to respond appropriately and quickly to fraudulent activity.。Customers in New York have lost millions of dollars due to lax security measures at Citibank, and in some cases their entire savings have been defrauded by crooks and hackers.。

Attorney General James held Citibank accountable for failing to protect its customers and demanded that the company repay interest to defrauded New York customers, pay penalties and put in place enhanced anti-fraud defenses to prevent crooks from stealing consumers' funds.。

In addition, Citibank failed to respond appropriately to customer fraud notices。When victims contact the bank to report fraud, Citibank puts them on hold for long periods of time, allowing the scammers to continue their fraud。In addition, Citibank did not do enough to protect consumers from unauthorized transactions before visiting local branches.。

Representatives for Citibank falsely claimed that consumers' accounts were secure and often promised to return their money, although the bank did not immediately take steps to recover the stolen funds.。Citibank also falsely told consumers they needed to visit a local branch and sign a special affidavit detailing the scam that led to their loss, which Citibank then used to blame consumers and reject their claims.。

Attorney General James said that because Citibank provides wire transfer services to consumers through the Internet and mobile banking applications, under the Electronic Funds Transfer Act (EFTA), Citibank must pay damages to victims of fraud, just as banks pay damages to victims of electronic credit or debit card fraud.。Under EFTA, banks such as Citi must compensate customers for lost or stolen funds in their accounts due to unauthorized electronic payments.。

However, Citibank illegally used a narrow exception in those laws to deny consumers compensation claims, causing New York consumers to lose millions of dollars.。Through the lawsuit, Attorney General James sought to stop Citibank's deception and collect damages, fines and penalties from victims who were denied reimbursement over the past six years.。

Attorney General James encourages all consumers who have suffered losses as a result of fraudsters hacking into their online or mobile banking, whether their bank accounts are with Citibank or other banks, to report their encounters to the Consumer Fraud Bureau of the Attorney General's Office.。