A TikTok user related her experience of being scammed by a fake apartment listing on Facebook, resulting in the loss of thousands of dollars. The woman also added that she was unable to dispute the charges with the online banking platform, Chime which she used for the transaction as they have completely washed their hands off the case. The incident piqued the attention of several users on TikTok who were quick to call out the online banking platform for its lack of accountability and user safety. Read along to know more.
The What and How
TikToker Steph rented an apartment through a Facebook marketplace ad, and on the 19th of September, she went to the specified location only to discover that she had been scammed by the person who posted the fake apartment listing. Steph was at a total loss because she had sent all the money she had saved for over a year to this particular person who turned out to be a scammer, “I have been living in my car for over a year trying to save all this money, and I just sent it all to this person. I am at the address, and they have blocked me and taken all the money that I’ve saved for months,” Steph says in the clip.
Although Steph called the police, the situation did not improve as they said that it could take “over a year before anything gets done.”
The original video gained over 140,000 views on TikTok, and commenters urged her to dispute the charges with her bank. In an update video, Steph mentions that although she had disputed the transaction immediately, the bank’s response was far from cordial. She received an email from the Chime Dispute Team on the 20th of September blatantly stating that her case was dismissed and that the company “considers the matter closed.” So much for accountability.
Soon after this video was posted, it received a comment from the official Chime TikTok account stating that they take these types of things seriously and that they are looking into the matter. However several commenters were chagrined by the pretentious attempts of the company to show that they cared while their actions stated otherwise.
A recent update video from Steph reflects the disappointment with the banking platform as she urges the users to not use Chime.
“I guess it doesn’t matter what the opinion of thousands of your customers is? Hundreds of comments saying the same has happened to them. I have offered screenshotted messages, written statements, and police statements, and nothing is good enough. I trusted this “bank” with my money but now I agree with the other thousands of people that say DO NOT USE CHIME!” Steph said in the video.
