Citibank Lawyers asked a judge on Tuesday (Oct. 8) to dismiss a lawsuit filed in January by New York's attorney general Letitia James It accuses the bank of failing to protect victims of fraud.

The Lawyers argued that the bank has consumer protections in place and that a victory for New York in the lawsuit would lead to a “dramatic change” in how it processes electronic paymentsBloomberg reported Tuesday.

Julia Stricklanda lawyer representing Citibank argued that major banks use multiple layers of fraud detection to stop scams; that the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) does not regulate transfers; that many fraudulent transfers result from consumers providing personal information to fraudsters; According to the report, the bank is not responsible for any losses if it follows appropriate security measures.

“Citi and the banking industry are by no means the bad guys here,” Strickland said in court, according to the report.

Christopher Filburna New York attorney, told the judge on Tuesday that the case focuses on cases in which money is withdrawn from a consumer's bank account without the consumer's instructions or authorization, according to the report.

Since the lawsuit was filed, Filburn said, “We’ve heard about it consumer after consumer.”

When announcing the submission of the suit In In January, James claimed that Citi had no protections against account takeovers, misled consumers about their rights if their accounts were hacked and unlawfully denied refunds to fraud victims.

“There is no excuse for Citi's failure to protect customer accounts and prevent millions of dollars from being stolen, and my office will not write off illegal behavior by major banks,” James said in a news release.

In a statement to PYMNTS at the time, a Citi spokesperson said the bank complies with all laws and regulations related to wire transfers, works to prevent fraud and assists customers in recovering losses when possible.

“Banks are not obliged to compensate their customers if those customers follow the instructions of criminals and the banks cannot detect any signs that the customers are being deceived,” the statement said.

“However, given the industry-wide rise in wire fraud in recent years, we have taken proactive steps to protect our customers’ accounts with leading security protocols, intuitive fraud prevention tools, clear insights into the latest scams, and customer-focused customer awareness and education.”