Robinhood users report fraudulent account activity, left in ‘limbo’ they say

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Robinhood user scrolls through the app. - Sam Rega

Robinhood users are complaining that their funds have been fraudulently withdrawn from their accounts on the online stock and cryptocurrency trading platform.

They tried to immediately seek help from Robinhood but were left in the dark— in one case a person’s life savings disappeared. The company does not have dedicated customer service to address critical problems—according to five Robinhood users who recounted their troubling experiences to Bloomberg News.

Robinhood exploded in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic as millions of young traders flock to the online trading app in the hope that they will be able to make a quick buck without having to deal with the intricacies of traditional trading.

With that popularity comes increased chances of fraud. Pruthvi Rao, a software engineer based in Chicago said the end result was losing his life’s savings. Rao made a $2,850 bet on Netflix, which all of a sudden was liquidated and withdrawn. “I’m in tremendous mental stress right now because this is all of my savings,” he said.