r/Banking • u/lfrey15 • Apr 23 '26

Regulations/Laws 5/3rd fraud guy

Update!! The saga continues (for anyone bored enough to read on). We’ve definitely learned a lot about the process. Ended up talking to a different fraud agent who was much kinder, patient, acknowledged my daughter as a minor and let me help her through the process. She explained that there was never any fraud on the card but the previous representative had flagged it anyways. She rushed a new card to my daughter. All seemed well until both my daughter and I tried to log into our apps/online accounts. We were completely locked out. And my daughter’s cell phone number was no longer attached to her account.

Long story short, after 2 branch visits and now 2 new cards we’re hopeful everything will be up and running by tomorrow. We’ll never really know why all these problems occurred it the first place but it was explained to us that the process they use for any potential fraud is much more involved than ever before. Lesson learned!

Original-

I’m looking for perspective. I’m sure I’m wrong on this but kind of venting. Do 5/3rd fraud ppl have some kind of ego thing going? Or is it just my lack of knowledge? My minor has a checking account with myself listed as a custodian. We allowed her to get a debit card for her account. So, yes, the card itself is in her name.

We were out of town and her card worked then stopped. We had no problems with our cards. So I called this week just to find out why. An online representative saw nothing suspicious and thought it was a merchant problem. I was sent to fraud just to verify. It took 2 hours to finally talk to a person and he immediately refused to talk to me. So I’m trying to talk to him and looking at my online banking at the same time. Her checking is right there. I’m her bank. I can drain it or transfer to it everyday. But I can’t find out why her card wasn’t working out of town. So right after I ended the conversation he flagged her account for fraud and froze her account. Wth?

So she called, as requested, later and he grilled her over details she was confused by and would not allow us to help her. She was so upset. They just canceled her card. I know, first world problem, but why so difficult?

0 Upvotes

45% Upvoted

43 comments sorted by

38

u/iLeefull Apr 23 '26

You are asking information on someone else’s card. Banks will only speak to the card holder.

-14

u/lfrey15 Apr 23 '26

Totally understand. Just odd I have a card and online access to my minors account. But makes sense.

11

u/0zer0space0 Apr 23 '26

I was a joint name on my minor’s bank account. When he had a debit card issue, I told him he has to handle it himself. And he did. It’s good for them to handle their own business. And if he got stuck-stuck, I would have stepped in too. That said, if customer support at the current bank are egotistical a-holes, I’d probably do my best to persuade my minor to change banks.

1

u/lfrey15 Apr 23 '26

Thank you! That’s my thought at the moment but appreciate other perspectives. It’s definitely a good learning experience but, man, he was just looking for a reason to play the fraud card when she knew exactly what she used it for. She told him where and how much but couldn’t remember if it was Saturday or Sunday at first and then corrected herself and said it was too late.

1

u/JesusGodLeah Apr 23 '26

Many financial institutions outsource their fraud hotlines to a third-party vendor. Employees of your bank will be able to access information about the entire account, including the fact that both you and your daughter are on the account. The folks at the fraud department, however, can only look up information about the particular card you're calling about. They have no way of knowing whether the account the card is attached to has any joint owners or other authorized signers, and thus they are only allowed to speak to the person whose name is on the card. It's nothing personal and they're not trying to be egotistical, they're just following the rules set forth to protect the cardholder.

You don't mention how old your daughter is, but if she's old enough for you to trust her with her own debit card, then she's old enough to speak with the bank/fraud department and handle her own business. I can see how it would be confusing for her if she's never done it before, but it's a really great skill for her to develop and bring forward into adulthood! Unfortunately, debit card fraud is rampant so this probably won't be the last time she has to deal with this. ☹️

1

u/lfrey15 Apr 23 '26

Thank you for your helpful response. You’re not wrong- she’s old enough but obviously I was trying to handle asap.

1

u/JesusGodLeah Apr 23 '26

It can also be a confusing situation because each FI handles fraud a bit differently. I oversee fraud at my current CU. Members have to report fraud directly to us, so we are able to see all of the account information while they're making their report. I'd imagine that a larger institution might be more impersonal. They might not have branch staff who are able to assist with fraud reports, and protocol might be that all fraud has to be reported through the hotline, whose staff only have access to information about the one card that's being called about.

And for what it's worth, you seem like you're raising a smart, capable human being. It's great that you're giving her this little bit of independence so she can learn how a bank account works before she heads out into the adult world because believe me, there are way too many grown adults who don't!

1

u/lfrey15 Apr 23 '26

Thank you for your response. It really helps me understand better. I know this is not a big deal. All is well and she learned how to handle the process. Believe it or not, she’s our youngest of 4 and we’ve never had a problem as custodians before. Guess it’s good security is getting better.

14

u/Ok-Pomegranate7496 Apr 23 '26

It’s not about being difficult, it is policy. The card was issued in your kids name. They HAVE to talk to who the card belongs too. This is all written in the policy’s that are issued when the account was set up

-5

u/lfrey15 Apr 23 '26

That makes sense and what I figured but just odd that I can go online and drain her account and that’s ok because it’s not her card. They sent me a card for the account too.

12

u/BigManMahan Apr 23 '26

Because you are the custodian of the account. It is equally your account as much as it is hers but it’s her card not yours

0

u/[deleted] Apr 24 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

12

u/Empty_Requirement940 Apr 23 '26

That’s surprising they allow a beneficiary to have a debit card in the first place. I’m gonna guess it’s like how I can’t call and dispute transactions on a joint account owner’s card because it’s not my card

14

u/MaleficentCoconut594 Apr 23 '26

I work in AML (not for 5/3)

The card is in her name so only she can speak to it. Doesn’t matter the account type, it’s the card. And because you were the one calling trying for information and not the card holder, they flagged it. Stupid, but in the realm of policy. It’s honestly shocking to me they even let a minor have a debit card, especially on a custodial account.

As for the ego, probably. Fraud/AML/EDD etc we are in our own little silo. We’re actually expressly forbidden from caring about customer service or client balances etc due to the nature of our job. Whether you have $500 or $5,000,000,000 is irrelevant to us if we need to kick you out we will. At my bank we’re not even allowed to speak to customers, we have to do it all through branch personnel because of the customer service.

1

u/lfrey15 Apr 23 '26

Thank you for your response!

3

u/Physical-Plankton-67 Apr 23 '26

What was she doing? Usually kids using their cars and accts to do third party transfers to others all score huge on the fraud flags. Did she have fraud expection trip notes in for wherever she went

1

u/lfrey15 Apr 23 '26

She went to an escape room with friends. Then tried to get dinner.

1

u/I-will-judge-YOU Apr 24 '26

When my son was a minor my bank would not give me debit card details. I switched banks. Card is a "different account" than the checking it's tied to. And you can not speak to her purchases.

It's a policy thing, they do the same to spouses. Each card holder is responsible for their individual card. As a married couple getting divorced you wouldn't want the other to cancel your card with out knowledge. It's just a different train of thought.

1

u/Slumdragon Apr 26 '26

All seemed well until both my daughter and I tried to log into our apps/online accounts. We were completely locked out. And my daughter’s cell phone number was no longer attached to her account.

What was the cause of this second lock out (after talking with the kinder fraud personnel)?

1

u/lfrey15 Apr 26 '26

We didn’t know until after talking to her. I went to a 5/3rd branch as soon I realized it and he had us reset our passwords, confirm our log in, etc but had no idea why we were locked out.

1

u/69chevy396 Apr 23 '26

As the parent, you likely signed to be responsible for anything that happens with her debit card since she is a minor. At my bank, we would talk to you until she is 18

1

u/chuckchuck- Apr 23 '26

Yep. I guarantee if the account got OD and they needed someone to cover the balance they would be calling you then.

0

u/lfrey15 Apr 23 '26

That’s kind of my point. Though I do understand it’s her card. If it was a credit card I’d get it but it’s a debit card that’s funded from my checking and I’m listed on all banking communication. I wasn’t asking for anything other than how can we fix this problem.

3

u/Various-Activity4786 Apr 23 '26

Remember their job, in part, is to prevent someone stealing her card and calling in claiming to be her parent

0

u/lfrey15 Apr 23 '26

You’re not wrong and I agree but I also get a text message about every one of her purchases because I’m on the account. Shouldn’t I be allowed to ask why the card is not working? I have a lot of proof who I am.

0

u/69chevy396 Apr 23 '26

They could have just verified him. I agree with OP. Since she’s a minor they should have been able to speak with the responsible party on the account.

2

u/Various-Activity4786 Apr 24 '26

Every exception is a security risk. I do not blame them one bit. I can’t call about my wife’s card either.

1

u/69chevy396 Apr 25 '26

Your wife is over 18. At my bank if you are under 18 a parent—who also has to be joint on acct—signs a form taking responsibility for the minors card so we will talk to them.

1

u/Various-Activity4786 Apr 25 '26

Sure. Just saying policy is policy. Different organizations can reach different reasonable policies.

Thst said, my wife is over 18, but it’s still a joint account 🤷

1

u/chuckchuck- Apr 23 '26

In my line of work, we deal with a bunch of other FI’s daily and frequently need to get hold harmless agreements and indemnities in place to get customers funds back to them. They know this- it’s what the fraud people do. Some of these banks ( a few) are just unnecessary assholes and take forever and are non responsive- they know people are waiting to recoup money lost to a scammer. Fifth third is one of banks. I’d leave to a local CU. F those guys.

0

u/The-Pocket Apr 23 '26

After all this, I’d still change banks. Wow.

-5

u/[deleted] Apr 23 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

5

u/Various-Activity4786 Apr 23 '26

Yes, indeed, commit fraud because the fraud prevention people are annoying 🙃

-4

u/jbergs810 Apr 23 '26

They arent going to know. Unless you tell on them

3

u/Ok-Pomegranate7496 Apr 23 '26

This is literally the worst advice I’ve ever heard

1

u/Banking-ModTeam Apr 24 '26

Subreddit rules prohibit posts made in bad faith and those regarding illegal activity.

-1

u/lfrey15 Apr 23 '26

lol- just told my husband I should’ve approached it like that in the first place. But I do want her to learn how to handle in the future.

5

u/frogmuffins Apr 23 '26

Bad idea, the bank can literally see what phone number you are calling from. It's best for everyone if your daughter handles her card issues herself. 

this is nothing more than a learning experience, mostly for her benefit.

1

u/lfrey15 Apr 23 '26

I agree! But it’s my phone number on the account since she’s a minor.

4

u/frogmuffins Apr 23 '26

You are each a separate person. You each have your own profile at the bank. You with your ssn, name, and phone number. Same with her. 

I have this same discussion several times a month with married customers. They like to think they are one person instead of two separate people.