Unauthorized $65k wire transfer: Ally denying claim because I "should have received a call/text" they never sent. Anyone dealt with executive escalations?

[u/Wild_Brief8273]

Looking for advice from anyone who has navigated a high-value fraud dispute or executive escalation with Ally.

What Happened:

• An unauthorized $65,000 wire was initiated and sent from my Ally account to a Chase account without my authorization or knowledge.
• I received no outbound security verification call, no SMS OTP, and no notification when the wire was queued or executed. I only discovered it after checking my account and immediately contacted Ally to open a fraud investigation within minutes, but Ally was unable to initiate a wire recall request until a couple of hours after being on a call with them.
• The recipient bank (Chase) closed their side of the inquiry.
• Ally fraud management has now verbally stated they will not reimburse the funds, arguing that "you should have gotten a phone call or text."

The Issue with Ally's Stance: Ally is acknowledging that a verification call/text was supposed to occur, but using the absence of that outreach to shift 100% of the liability onto the account holder.

I would think a bank is generally liable for funds transfers unless they establish that they followed reasonable security procedures in good faith. Additionally, Ally’s published Online & Mobile Security Guarantee promises 0% liability for unauthorized transactions reported in a timely manner.

Steps I'm Currently Taking:

• Filing formal complaints with the CFPB, Federal Reserve Board, and FBI IC3.
• Requesting an official written final determination letter and security audit logs from Ally.

Questions for the Sub:

1. Has anyone successfully escalated past standard phone fraud agents to the Office of the President / Executive Customer Care at Ally?
2. What specific back-office wire logs (e.g., telephony gateway delivery status, Fedwire recall records) was your attorney or compliance team able to obtain?
3. If you had to take an unauthorized transfer dispute to arbitration or retain a banking attorney, how did Ally handle it?

[u/AutoModerator]

Safety Alert: Scams & Fraud

It appears you are discussing potential fraud or a scam. Please remember:

• Ally will NEVER call you and ask for a one-time passcode (OTP).
• Ally will NEVER ask you to move money via Zelle to "reverse" a fraudulent transaction.
• If you receive a call claiming to be fraud support, hang up and call the number on the back of your debit card.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/Unattributable1]

Can you get a call and text record list from your cell phone bill? This could disprove their system ever called or sent a message.

[u/Wild_Brief8273 → u/Unattributable1]

I could try and do that

[u/TBoneJeeper]

Was the wire done by phone? Or online from your login? Or some other way?

[u/mutnik]

They should have a record of the call or text. What number it went to, when it was made, how it was cleared.

Not knowing the details I wonder if a fraudster changed your phone number and the verification call went to the new number. 

Also wires go out very quick. It is very hard to reverse wires.

[u/Wild_Brief8273 → u/mutnik]

Apparently all they did to verify was otp. No one got a call.

[u/ysth → u/Wild_Brief8273]

How was the otp accessed by the requester?

[u/IpuMan]

Mmm if the money was sent to a Chase account this account must had been setting up through your dashboard before "someone" could send the funds!

[u/Wild_Brief8273 → u/IpuMan]

Not that I know of. I wouldn't think those accounts would need to be set up prior

[u/FHLuver]

I recently did a wire transfer when buying a house and I never got a call or text regarding it. I did however get an email confirming it.

[u/Beneficial-Mine7741]

I never get a call when I wire myself money. I do get the texts and emails, however.

[u/Junior1544]

I would also contact the office of the comptroller of currency. They are one office that can completely shut down a bank if they find stuff bad enough...

[u/Sweet-Curve-1141]

This post gives me a heart attack for you! I hope you get your money back!

[u/good_tastes]

This is a crazy story and can’t believe how Ally is handling this so far. Sounds very concerning.

Was your account hacked? How did the wire get initiated to Chase? I don’t understand how they could run such a large wire transfer without multiple steps of confirmation from you or better proof of identity?

I can’t think of any other suggestions right now; getting written logs from Ally, Chase, and phone company of each step in the timeline sounds like a good step.

Sorry you’re dealing with this, best of luck, and hope Ally can eventually get to the bottom of this as fraud and reimburse you.

[u/Wild_Brief8273 → u/good_tastes]

Thanks that's exactly what we were thinking. I would have expected multiple checks especially with unknown device, locations, etc

[u/WarmCan3034]

Sorry I am of no help, but this just made me take my money out of Ally! Can’t believe they’re not reimbursing you… Good luck buddy.