Tell HN: Marcus.com' automated fraud detection locked me out of life savings

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Tell HN: Marcus.com' automated fraud detection locked me out of life savings

Long story short, Marcus.com' automated fraud detection system flagged one of my transactions. Account got locked, since I don't live in the U.S. anymore and have no U.S. phone number there is no way for them to ascertain my identity. Now stuck adding higher-ups on LinkedIn to see if I can get some personal support.

Any advice how to deal with this? Here is the full story which some of you might have lived through already:

I have most of my life savings with Marcus.com, an account that I opened in 2019. I always used the same 1-2 bank accounts to transfer money in and out. In 2020 I moved back to my home country in Europe but left the savings accounts open.

About 4 weeks ago I added a new bank account to transfer money to (a wise.com account with Evolve Bank & Trust). I verified the account (two deposits) and then proceeded to transfer half of my savings with the intent of converting it into Euros to use in my home country.

1 day later, transfer got reversed. I can still access my account but not transfer any of my money anywhere.

Upon calling customer service, I learn that the transaction was flagged. The only way they can prove my identity is by sending a text to a phone number registered in my name. That doesn’t work since I don’t have a phone number in my name in the U.S. anymore. The phone number to access the account for 2FA is a VoiP service. Ok, great. Now what?

Well, apparently they can send an affidavit to my account address in the U.S. (which is my brother-in-law’s address where we usually visit when we’re there) which I can notarize with my ID and send to them. Takes between 5-10 business days. Perfect, let’s do that. I will be in the U.S. during that time frame.

1 week – no affidavit. I call – the affidavit still needs to be approved. 2 weeks later – still no affidavit. I call them “The affidavit still hasn’t been approved”. Every time a different set of agents, each giving the same canned responses. Finally I get a supervisor on the phone “we will expedite a phone call to you and the security team will ascertain your identity. This takes 1-3 business days. If they miss you, they will leave a voice mail and you can call back the hotline”.

Obviously, no phone call ever happens. No voice mail happens. No affidavit is sent. Call agents still telling me “I am sorry this is happening but we need to wait for approval”. I feel like I am stuck in hell. No single employee that contacts me, no one that owns my case. Is this the future we create for ourselves? Unbelievable.

Anyone that has been in a similar situation, how did you deal with this?

Discussion 46 comments · 73 points · sherlock_h · 2023-11-03
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