NEW YORK (Reuters) -New York state’s attorney general’s office said on Tuesday said it had sued Citibank for allegedly failing to protect customers from electronic fraud and reimburse victims, which it said had cost customers in the state millions of dollars.
In a lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court, Attorney General Letitia James alleged Citi’s lax security protocols allowed scammers to gain easy access to users’ accounts and steal their deposits through unauthorized wire transfers.
“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 said in a statement.
In a statement, a Citi spokesperson said Citi had taken steps to boost security, resulting in a significant drop in wire fraud. But the spokesman said the bank had followed all laws and regulations related to wire transfers.
“Banks are not required to make clients whole when those clients follow criminals’ instructions and banks can see no indication the clients are being deceived,” the spokesman said.
James’ lawsuit asked Citibank to disgorge profits, pay a $5,000 fine for each instance in which it violated the law, and appoint a third-party monitor to identify all customers who were harmed.
James said customers who reported fraud were subject to lengthy telephone holds, and were told by Citi staff that they would get reimbursed even though the bank took no immediate steps to recover funds.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen and Tatiana Bautzer in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
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