Chase denied my fraud claim — what are my options?

I noticed $3,400 in unauthorized charges on my Chase debit card last month. Three separate transactions at electronics stores I've never been to — two in a city I haven't visited in years. I reported it within a week of seeing the charges on my statement.

Chase investigated and came back saying the charges were authorized because the physical chip on the card was used. They said there's no evidence of fraud since chip transactions can't be cloned. I still have the card in my possession, and I absolutely did not make these purchases.

I called back and asked to re-open the dispute, and the rep basically told me the decision was final. Is that actually true? What are my options here? $3,400 is a huge amount of money for me and I can't just eat this loss.

The bank's position that chip transactions are inherently unforgeable is outdated and legally insufficient to deny your claim. Here's what you need to know:

Regulation E (12 CFR 1005) and the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) provide strong protections for unauthorized debit card transactions. Under Reg E Section 1005.6, your maximum liability for unauthorized transfers reported within 60 days of your statement is capped at $500 — and if you reported within 2 business days of learning about the loss, it's capped at $50. The burden is on the bank to prove the transaction was authorized, not on you to prove it wasn't.

Here are your next steps:

• File a written dispute (not just a phone call) via certified mail to Chase's disputes department. Reference Reg E explicitly and demand they provide their investigation records.
• File a complaint with the CFPB at consumerfinance.gov. Banks respond to CFPB complaints with significantly more attention than internal escalations. Cite the specific Reg E provisions in your complaint.
• File a police report if you haven't already — this strengthens your case considerably.
• If the bank still won't budge, you have a private right of action under EFTA Section 916 (15 U.S.C. § 1693m), which allows you to recover actual damages plus statutory damages up to $1,000, plus attorney's fees.

Chip cards can in fact be compromised through shimming attacks and relay attacks. The bank's claim that chip = authorized is not a valid legal defense under EFTA.

Almost the exact same thing happened to me with Chase about 8 months ago. $1,900 in charges at a Best Buy across the state. They denied it because of the chip too.

I filed a CFPB complaint like the attorney above suggested and Chase reversed their decision within 11 days. The CFPB complaint is absolutely the move — it forces a different team at the bank to review your case, not the same people who already denied you.

For what it's worth, I work in payments and the idea that chip cards can't be compromised is simply false. EMV shimming has been documented since at least 2020. A shimmer is a thin device inserted into the card reader that intercepts communication between the chip and the terminal.

More importantly, even if the physical card was somehow used, that doesn't mean you authorized it. Someone could have accessed your card without your knowledge. The legal standard under EFTA is whether the consumer authorized the specific transaction, not whether the card was physically present.

Thank you all so much. I filed the CFPB complaint this morning and sent a certified letter to Chase referencing Reg E and EFTA. Also filed a police report online with my local PD.

I'll update this thread when I hear back. Really hoping the CFPB route works as well for me as it did for you, DebitCardNightmare. $3,400 is basically my entire emergency fund.

One more thing — when you filed your initial dispute, did Chase give you provisional credit while they investigated? Under Reg E Section 1005.11(c)(2), the bank is required to provisionally credit your account within 10 business days of receiving your dispute if the investigation isn't complete. If they didn't do that, mention it in your CFPB complaint as an additional violation.

Also, keep all documentation — screenshots of your statement, copies of your letters, the CFPB complaint confirmation number, the police report number. You want a paper trail for everything.