EDD Money Network Fraud - Account Wiped Out

I never received the initial card that Fiserv (Money Network) issued me when the transfer of payment service took place.  I alerted them earlier this month and requested a new card be issued.  That second card was also sent but never arrived.  I assume that because neither card arrived there is a good possibility that the theft of both cards were due to an inside job at USPS.  When I contacted Fiserv today to alert them to the fact that the second card did not arrive, I was made aware that over the past three days, someone has fraudulently drained my account of over $4000 from my prepaid Fiserv EDD card.  Fiserv has not restored my money to my account.  They are requiring me to go through a lengthy dispute process that requires mailing documents back and forth.

I am going to an EDD field office first thing tomorrow to make them aware.  I suspect that this problem is systemic.  I believe countless other recipients of EDD funds might be experiencing the same problem with fraud.  There are virtually no safety protocols put in place to prevent any person from activating these new cards and stealing funds.  My card was authorized using an arbitrary email address that is not mine.  The card was verified with that arbitrary email address.  The only email address that should be able to be used to verify my identity should be the email address I have on file with EDD.  It doesn't take a rocket scientist to determine that this activation process is inherently flawed and rife for abuse.  Suffice to say, whatever EDD hoped to accomplish with this rollout, has been completely bungled.  This action that was supposed to stem fraud has likely led to far more fraud than existed previously.  Today, I waited hours on hold to speak to a supervisor with Fiserv to now avail.  No supervisor would take my call.  It took five callbacks to finally reach an assertive Fiserv phone representative who took action to freeze the account so no more damage could be done.

The thief who has stolen my prepaid EDD debit card has stolen over $4000 of my benefits over the period of three days. The thief verified the card and activated the account with a pin number that the thief selected. The thief has used the card at a US Metro Bank ATM repetitively drawing incrementally small amounts. The thief has also used the card to pay bills with Spectrum, Cricket Wireless, and Sony Playstation. The thief has also used the card to pay for services at a hair salon in the amount of $440. The thief has also used the card to shop at Target. These scammers have no fear of being prosecuted.

Whoever is in charge of implementing this new payment program at EDD and Fiserv needs to take responsibility and accept accountability. These people need to be fired. Instead of the intended purpose of preventing fraud, these imbeciles have given criminals the virtual keys to the bank vault. Meanwhile, I am, and many others are as well,  are prevented from having access to the unemployment funds that are much needed for my family. This situation is outrageous.