Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.
California residents who were unable to access their unemployment benefits after Bank of America froze their state-issued debit cards have filed a class action lawsuit accusing the bank of lax security measures.
Lead plaintiffs, Julie Hicks, Kuang Ting Chong, and Stephanie Moore, want to represent other Californians who were left high and dry during the coronavirus pandemic after Bank of America froze unemployment debit cards to combat fraud. In their class action lawsuit filed Tuesday, they say “systematic failures” in Bank of America’s security led to the breaches and the bank’s actions punished the unemployed by denying them access to desperately needed funds.
Hicks, Chong, and Moore say they are three of the hundreds of thousands of Californians who received a Bank of America debit card to access unemployment benefits — their only source of income in the face of a global pandemic that resulted in massive layoffs. Each of the plaintiffs say they were blindsided when Bank of America unexpectedly froze their accounts in response to an uptick in fraud, facing declined transactions when purchasing tires, food for their children, and other necessities.
They say the debit cards issued by Bank of America to them and others entitled to unemployment benefits were subpar when it came to securing their unemployment benefits.
The Bank of America unemployment debit cards issued prior to 2021 did not come with several key security features, including an “EMV” chip, say the plaintiffs.
“EMV chips are small, metallic squares that create unique transaction data each time the chip is used to make a purchase,” explains the class action lawsuit. “Debit cards without chips are extremely easy for thieves to duplicate. All a thief needs to create a duplicate card is data from a single debit card purchase.”
The plaintiffs say that EMV chips have become standard in recent years to protect consumers from identity theft; however, despite being readily available and inexpensive, Bank of America issued unemployment debit cards without this technology.
As a result, Bank of America unemployment debit cards were targeted and hacked on a large scale by identity thieves in 2020, say the plaintiffs.
“These individuals used clone cards, likely created from information obtained on the dark web, to initiate fraudulent ATM withdrawals throughout California,” alleges the class action lawsuit.
Bank of America responded to the uptick in fraudulent activity in October — by freezing the accounts of nearly 350,000 unemployed Californians, allege the plaintiffs.
In addition to being unable to access unemployment benefits, Bank of America also reversed fraud credits to create negative charges for recipients, leaving them unable to access funds already in the accounts, claims the class action lawsuit.
The plaintiffs want to represent Californians who had their Bank of America unemployment debit card cloned by identity thieves, as well as those who were unable to access their benefits as a result of the bank’s sweeping decision to freeze or reverse credits on their accounts.
They are seeking damages on behalf of Class Members along with a court order prohibiting Bank of America from denying unemployment benefit recipients access to their accounts.
Bank of America was hit with a series of class action lawsuits filed by California unemployment benefit recipients and ordered to provide immediate relief earlier this year. Ten class action lawsuits claiming Bank of America improperly handled unemployment benefits during the pandemic, resulting in frozen accounts and fraud, were consolidated into federal court in the Southern District of California in June.
Was your Bank of America unemployment debit card frozen? We want to hear from you! Tell us about your experience in the comment section below.
The plaintiffs are represented by Benjamin Gubernick of Gubernick Law, PLLC, and by David N. Lake, of Law Offices of David N. Lake, A Professional Corporation.
The Bank of America Unemployment Debit Card Class Action Lawsuit is Hicks et al. v. Bank of America, N.A., Case No. 5:21-cv-05544, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
Don’t Miss Out!
Check out our list of Class Action Lawsuits and Class Action Settlements you may qualify to join!
Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:
- Bank of America eBill AutoPay $5.95M Class Action Settlement
- Bank of America, Capital One Charge Illegal Foreign Transaction Fees, Claim Class Action Lawsuits
- Bank of America, Citigroup, and Other Major Banks Manipulate Credit Default Swap Market, Class Action Alleges
- Mortgage Holder Settles Lawsuit With PHH Mortgage Corp After Alleging Inflated Inspection Fees
42 thoughts onBank of America Froze 350K Unemployment Debit Cards, Alleges New Class Action Lawsuit
My unemployment account was frozen also. After I verified my identity, they told me, that I was not ME. They refused to allow me to prove it any further. Discontinued me from being able to do any other option and it caused me to default on my credit card payments which ruined my credit and now I can’t get credit cards or anything. Even to this day I’m being affected. I was told that when I verified my ID they wouldn’t accept it because my address on my ID was different than my current address. I said I had a license with the correct address and they refused to allow me to prove it.
This is what happened to myself as well!!! What do i do know i still have 8,560.00 left on my claim an s b of a is deny my funds!
The Bank of America close my account for unknown reasons it was froze for a total of 8 months and during those 8 months I became homeless I lost my car cuz I couldn’t make the payment end up in the hospital many times because of lack of food and water my life was a living hell and I tried many many times to take care of this issue over the phone and nothing ever got resolved I can’t believe that these people could sleep at night knowing that they were robbing individuals that had little income of the money they needed to survive I want them to be held responsible just like anybody else
Over 19 thousand was siffoned off of my card in 2021. I filed a dispute in September of 2021 they denied all of them. No provisional credit nothing in less than 10 days. I was just informed last Friday that the disputes were opened back up on January of 2022!! An entire year and a half ago!!! No letters, no updates, nothing and I’m being told it’s no time frame for an answer that they can keep the investigation going as long as they want!! I keep filing complaints does absolutely nothing. I never recovered from this I’m now homeless with 3 children on the verge of having to give them up because I have no way to take care of them. I’m devastated and can’t get Fraud of America to do anything.
my mom was in hispital with covid someone got ahold of her card and ordered 2000 dollars worth of stuff when she was better she reported it they gave her money back then froze her card for a long time taking her benifits can she file a claim
Yes it was a nightmare Thay lied to me hung up on me only after being on hold all day took money out of my account ther was all kinds of charges made that was not me I call the police and maid reports 2 times I have still never gotten my money back
I was hit really hard with this Bank of America issue as well and it is followed me into my other bank as well way to go and now I see this class action is for California I’m in Arizona what happens to the rest of us. I currently have just gained access to my way to go card since they took it over in February 2022 it took me 2 years to have access to my card and at that somebody still has all the information to view my statements I can’t still can’t be with you those somebody else has all my information and I have an additional social security number on my Experian credit report now this is a mess but this is through California what about the rest of us example arizona?
So I would say may of 2020 hit me really hard, because I’m a traveling beautician and due to COVID-19 I was hit hard, so when I decide to file a claim I had come to realize that some had already filed my EDD so after a long and I mean long I was able to file but somehow everything got mixed up so when it came to me trying to get my car I never received my card but all my money in my account is gone so it’s been a whole lot and I’m still going through it never recovered from the beginning and it hurts cuz I have kids staying in a week now I can really use my money
I have been fighting a claim since 2020 for 30,673 in my unemployment pandemic benefits. I recently on 12/2021 received an approval letter. Stating my claim was approved and the card and pin has been mailed out. So I called Bank of America to inquire about the letter and confirm what I thought was lost.. well turns out that everything adds up with statements and proper procedures to file a claim its all checked out…except the most important part the credits in question..they have not been issued although the system says they have… the boa system also issued 9 debit cards without my knowledge and I received 2out of those 9. So if u ask me SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH BOA AND IS THERE ANY WAY TO FILE A LAWSUIT REGARDING THIS EMOTIONAL MENTAL stress I’ve been having to get through, living hardship conditions, the pandemic money was to help the people experiencing hardship and help us get out. I on the other hand feel rapped of the opportunity to better the lives of my children and myself. Instead the situation has not improved and boa is denying my urgency for what is rightfully owed to me I am in need of a defense attorney who specializes in cases that I am experiencing now thank you
Bank of America froze my account to. After I contacted them just 3days after receiving my unemployment bank card. I noticed someone had used my information from that card and had spent over $1,200.00 out of my account
B of A said they would send me a new card and investigate who had stolen my card information and spent the money. I did get a new card I activated the new card I even used a new card but because my unemployment had been on an appeal right before I was getting ready to get the majority of my employment at one time because of back pain they froze my account told me they had closed my account and that there was no one in the entire company I could talk to about it. They denied my claim over and over and over again with each time I appealed and appealed and appealed it took me nearly a year because they kept saying they were going to hold me liable for somebody stealing my information off that card I ended up homeless and still have not gotten on my feet. After almost a year of this back and forth with them they sent another denial then in almost a day or two later all the sudden the money was back on my account. But that was after having to spend money I’m going to another town to go prove I was who I said I was at one of the branches and had to stay the night in a hotel and get a car to go down there I also had to pay over $1,200 to cash the checks that then I had to receive because I could no longer get my back pay on that account I had to get checks mailed to me with one clean up missing and not getting it till 4 months later, b of a made that entire year a complete nightmare for me.
12/20/2020 $462.00 was my last payment before my account was froze. I called BofA & reported unauthorized purchase in my account. My card & account was froze until 09/24/2021. I went thru a living hell with Bank of America & the lies they put it off on EDD. I knew it was BofA. In that time of having my claim froze by BofA.
I was unaware I was approved for benefits because I never got a card then I found out they gave all my benefits away .I filed claims that are continuously denied now I’ve been evicted .they said if I came in to verify myself it would be faster then they said to file a police report so I did that too but they’re still denied and I keep appealing it pls let me know how to get on one the class actions this has drastically affected my life pls help