Q My 84-year-old cousin recently returned home to find that her account at a Florida bank was missing $32,000. The bank said her account's mailing address had been changed via computer and that the money had subsequently been paid via PayPal for purchases.
We made the discovery six months after these payments began, because my cousin had been hospitalized or in a rehabilitation center during that time and so hadn't missed her bank statements. But the bank says it has no responsibility for my cousin's losses beyond the first 60 days, and as a result has refunded only the $16,000 it said was paid out during that period.
Since my cousin has never owned or used a computer, shouldn't the bank have thought it unusual that she changed her mailing address via computer? What can my cousin do?
ESTHER LITVIN, SURFSIDE, FLA.
A What happened to your cousin sounds wrong to me. I suggest you file a complaint with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which is part of the U.S. Treasury Department.
For instructions on how to file a complaint electronically or by conventional mail, see tinyurl.com/6yneag3. Alternatively, you can call 1-800-613-6743.
Why complain to the federal government? A little checking shows that your cousin's bank is a nationally chartered financial institution. That means Florida bank regulators have no authority over it, said Flora Beal at the Florida Office of Financial Regulation in Tallahassee.
Q I'm interested in the Magic Jack device for making Internet telephone calls, but it seems too good to be true. And, if everybody used it, would that affect the telephone companies?
