EDD Money Network Card funds stolen - BofA denied 3 of 4 fraud claims after identity theft

I went through something similar last year. You need to escalate this beyond the regular fraud department. Here's what worked for me: 1. File a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) against Bank of America 2. Contact your state representative's office - they often have staff dedicated to helping with EDD issues 3. Submit a formal appeal letter to BofA's executive office (not just the regular fraud dept) 4. Document EVERYTHING - names, dates, reference numbers for every call The CFPB complaint was what finally got BofA to take my case seriously. They have to respond to federal complaints within 15 days. My funds were restored about 3 weeks after filing.

omg bofa is THE WORST with edd cards!! they denied my fraud claim 2x before approving it. keep fighting!!!!

Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but BofA has a 120-day time limit for reporting fraud on EDD cards. Since you're talking about cards from 2021 and didn't report until 2023, they're probably denying based on their terms of service. I had a similar issue and couldn't get anywhere because I waited too long (in my case only 7 months). The system is designed to make it nearly impossible to recover funds after their arbitrary cutoff.

I work as an advocate helping people with EDD issues, and unfortunately, your situation is becoming more common. Here's what you need to understand: BofA and EDD have a contract that makes BofA responsible for fraud claims, but they make the process incredibly difficult. The legal time limit for electronic fund transfer disputes is actually governed by Regulation E, which gives you 60 days from when you COULD HAVE REASONABLY DISCOVERED the unauthorized transactions - not from when they occurred. BofA tries to manipulate this by claiming you should have been checking statements regularly. Your next steps should be: 1. File the CFPB complaint as suggested 2. Contact your State's Department of Financial Protection and Innovation 3. Submit a formal appeal letter via certified mail citing Regulation E's discovery provision 4. If those fail, consider consulting with a consumer protection attorney Don't give up - I've seen numerous cases where persistence ultimately paid off.

have you tried gettin thru to bofa's edd specialist team? regular bofa customer service is useless for edd cards they dont even have access to the same systems

I had the EXACT same problem last year trying to reach Bank of America's EDD department for a fraud claim. Regular customer service kept transferring me around, and I could never get through to the right people. After weeks of frustration, I tried a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to a BofA EDD specialist in about 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/JmuwXR7HA10?si=TSwYbu_GOwYzt9km It was worth it because I finally got to speak with someone who could actually see my EDD card account and help with the fraud department escalation. The specialist explained that the EDD-specific fraud team has different procedures than regular BofA fraud, which is why I kept getting the runaround.

WHY is everyone suggesting MORE phone calls?? DOCUMENT EVERYTHING IN WRITING! BofA will keep giving you the runaround on the phone because there's no record. Send everything by certified mail with return receipt. The EDD debit card terms actually require written notification for disputes. I learned this the hard way - spent months on calls that went nowhere, then sent ONE formal letter and suddenly they "found" my case and resolved it in 2 weeks.

One thing I forgot to mention earlier - be sure to specifically request the results of BofA's investigation into your claims. Under Regulation E, they're required to provide you with the specific reasons for denial and the evidence they used to make that determination. Many people don't know they can demand this information, and BofA certainly doesn't volunteer it. If their investigation was inadequate (which it sounds like it was), that's another point to raise in your CFPB complaint. When I finally got my investigation results, it was clear they hadn't even bothered to verify whether I had activated the card or not before denying my claim.

im confused why didnt u report the cards missing in 2021?? didnt u know u were getting edd payments then??

I'm so sorry you're dealing with this nightmare - it's infuriating how BofA treats EDD cardholders. Your situation is particularly egregious since you never even received the cards to begin with. A few additional suggestions based on what others have shared: 1. When you file that CFPB complaint, specifically mention that you're disputing under Regulation E and that the "discovery rule" applies since you had no reasonable way to know about the fraud 2. Document the timeline clearly - emphasize that you got a job before payments were issued and had no expectation of receiving cards 3. Consider reaching out to your local news station's consumer protection segment - they love stories about big banks screwing over unemployment recipients 4. Keep copies of EVERYTHING - your job start date, EDD correspondence, police reports, etc. The fact that they approved one claim but denied three others with similar circumstances shows their process is arbitrary. That inconsistency alone should be grounds for appeal. Don't let them wear you down - you deserve that money back!

This is exactly the kind of systematic abuse that needs more attention. BofA's EDD fraud process is designed to deny legitimate claims and hope people give up. The fact that you never received the cards makes this even more clear-cut - how can they claim "consistent transaction patterns" when you literally never had access to the cards? I'd also suggest reaching out to your state assembly member's office. Many have caseworkers specifically trained on EDD issues who can sometimes cut through the bureaucratic BS. They often have direct contacts at both EDD and BofA that regular customers can't reach. Another angle: if you have records showing when you started your new job (pay stubs, employment letter, etc.), that timeline evidence could be crucial. It proves you had no financial need for the EDD benefits during the fraud period, which undermines any argument about "normal usage patterns." The system is broken, but don't give up. Your case has strong merit and the advice about CFPB complaints and Regulation E is spot on. Document everything and keep fighting!

I'm dealing with a very similar situation right now and your post gives me hope that I'm not alone in this fight. BofA denied my EDD fraud claim even though I had clear evidence of identity theft, including a police report and FTC affidavit just like you. What really resonates with me is how they give different excuses every time you call - it's like they're just throwing out random reasons hoping you'll give up. In my case, they first said the transactions looked "normal" (despite me never activating the card), then claimed I waited too long to report it, then said my documentation was insufficient. I'm taking notes on all the advice in this thread, especially about the CFPB complaint and citing Regulation E. The point about requesting their investigation results is brilliant - I never knew we had that right. Have you made any progress since filing your initial claims? I'm curious if the appeal process has moved forward at all or if you're still stuck in the same loop with their customer service. Stay strong - from everything I'm reading here, it sounds like persistence really does pay off with these cases, even though BofA makes it as difficult as possible.

This whole situation is absolutely infuriating and unfortunately way too common. I've been helping people navigate EDD/BofA fraud issues for the past two years, and your case hits all the classic red flags of their broken system. Here's what's really important that I haven't seen mentioned yet: BofA has an internal escalation process called a "second level review" that most reps won't tell you about. When you file your CFPB complaint (which you absolutely should), also demand a second level review of all denied claims. Use those exact words. Also, since you never received the cards, this technically falls under "card not received" fraud, which has different protections than regular unauthorized transaction fraud. BofA should have issued you replacement cards immediately when you first contacted them about never receiving the originals, regardless of when the fraud occurred. One more critical point: California has additional consumer protections beyond federal regulations. Contact the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) in addition to the CFPB. They've been cracking down on BofA's EDD practices specifically. Don't let them gaslight you about time limits - the clock doesn't start ticking until you had reasonable opportunity to discover the fraud, which clearly wasn't possible for cards you never received. Keep fighting!