Loss of $8,200 from bank account a nightmare for suburban woman

CHICAGO (CBS) -- The online financial institution Chime says it offers customers significant features like no monthly fees and no minimum balance requirements.

But one Chicago area woman told CBS 2's Jim Williams her experience with Chime has been nothing short of a nightmare. She reached out for help.

When CBS 2 first talked to Tara Venturi, the stress had been building from an alarming notifications on July 20.

"I got an alert that my email address and phone number had been changed on my bank account," she said.

All of her money was gone from her account at the online bank, Chime.

"I got alter after alert that everything I had, $8,200, was transferred from my savings to my checking and then spent on a gaming website and eBay," she said.

More than $8,000 was ripped off by a hacker, or multiple hackers.

"I'm lost," Venturi said. "It was every penny to my name. I had 21 cents in my account."

The hack created enormous heartache for a single mom and student, who works seven days a week at a suburban café.

"I haven't been able to buy groceries," she said. "My electric was already late but it got shut off two days ago cause I couldn't pay for it. My rent is due tomorrow."

Venturi emailed Chime repeatedly.

"I've sent 107 emails," she said. "I filed two police reports and all my disputes were denied. They denied every single one of them with no reasoning."

So she reached out to CBS 2.

"I don't know what to do," she said.

We contacted Chime. A spokeswoman would not tell us why the company had not replaced Venturi's money, but said it was investigating, adding this statement:

"In the very small number of instances when fraud does occur, our team works to evaluate and resolve the case as quickly as possible -- all with a focus on protecting our members."

The company's website, touting no late fees nor service fees among others, says "Your account shouldn't cost you money."

A testimonial from a customer said, "your security and privacy is their number one concern."

Still, Venturi told CBS 2, even after thieves cleaned out her account, even after she repeatedly changed her password and email address, the hackers kept at it.

"$500 in Costa Rica, $500 in Indonesia," she said. "All over the globe. They're being denied because there's no money in (the account) but Chime's not doing anything to stop this."

Finally, a few hours after we contacted Chime, she finally got some good news.

"I talked to you guys at one," she said. "At about five o'clock, the money was back into my account."

Venturi immediately transferred her money to another bank. She's now breathing easier.

"I had never been so stressed out before in my life, but I got it back in time to pay my rent and life can go on as normal, thanks to you guys," she said.

Chime has still not said why it took so long to replace all the money that was stolen, nor has the company explained why it failed to protect Venturi's account.