Not Having an Account with ANZ, but Just Received a Bank Statement

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ANZ

• 

  try2bhelpful on 30/03/2019 - 16:42

  +7

  Sounds like spam, but might be worth talking to the customer service guys to make sure nobody has tried some identity fraud on you.

  • 

    mrhorse on 30/03/2019 - 17:18

    Thank you, just called them.

• 

  scrimshaw on 30/03/2019 - 16:57

  +7

  Call the bank, ask about who opened the account, at what time, and which branch.

  If a criminal open new accounts they can build up debts in your name which can ruin your credit rating. Find out as much as possible from the bank.

  https://www.acorn.gov.au/learn-about-cybercrime/identity-the…

  • 

    mrhorse on 30/03/2019 - 17:18

    Thanks, I just called and luckily they do have people answering the phone on Saturday.

    This issue has been explained by their customer solution team (sounds like a team in fintech..)
    Basically, they asserted Mr. myWrong name opened this account online last year, but have not has his ID verified at a branch.
    Surprisingly, Mr. myWrong name has most details correct, including my phone number, DOB and address.
    Last September, a $39.98 credit was deposited to this account by ANZ in order to zero out the previous owing amount. But for some reason, the bank did not close it! Maybe because this guy still has not had his ID verified, and what if he is just not caring enough and does what the bank tells him to do, the bank can still make a profit out of nowhere!
    The solution is, I still need to go to one of their branches to verify my ID (against a wrong name?) to close the account.
    But I double checked with the lady over the phone, there is no due date for this action, meaning I can just leave it as it is?

    • 

      scrimshaw on 31/03/2019 - 01:15

      +1

      But I double checked with the lady over the phone, there is no due date for this action, meaning I can just leave it as it is?

      The worst thing you can do is sit on your butt and be complacent about financial matters. You really should visit the bank in person and talk to someone there that knows how to investigate fraud. I'd also get

      • Credit report check to see where you stand in terms of debt
      • Ask other bank(s) to see if there are any additional open accounts in your name.
    • 

      Love a bargain on 31/03/2019 - 13:35

      It doesn't sound right to me that you've to assume the identify of Mr myWrong name to close the account. If I were you, I'd insist that the bank closes that account not on their own accord rather than on the request of me as the account holder, once I've proven to them that I'm not that person. This is just to avoid any repercussion (at worse) or to cause me to become ineligible for any new customer promotion (at best) in the future).

• 

  Cheeper on 30/03/2019 - 17:32

  +9

  A bank asking for you to provide ID to close an account you did not open?
  They have admitted that no ID has been provided as required on opening the account so none is needed for them to close it.
  I would write to the manager at the local branch and tell him that if you are contacted further about this it will be referred to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority.
  In the meantime I would be checking all my online accounts and making them more secure.

  • 

    mrhorse on 30/03/2019 - 17:37

    Thanks for your advice, really appreciate it!

    I am just a bit confused what is the difference between, if necessary, reporting to AFCA, Acorn and Financial Ombudsman Service.

    Last time I was a victim in an account theft, and the bank was doing nothing until I reported to FOS, which was really helpful.

    • 

      ectogammat on 30/03/2019 - 21:01

      +1

      "From 1 November 2018, all new financial services complaints are dealt with by AFCA" https://www.fos.org.au

    • 

      Gandalf the Thrifty on 31/03/2019 - 00:04

      +2

      Last time I was a victim in an account theft

      This sounds like second time, that you know of. You should seriously look into credit reports (and possibly paid monitoring) to see if there are other accounts/attempts.

  • 

    Settero on 30/03/2019 - 21:11

    +2

    this is actually pretty bad advice , ID was provided electronically , they required further verification for the account to be used. going to AFCA before trying to actually resolve it with the bank is pretty counter productive , AFCA should really only be used when the bank has done something wrong and/or is unable to resolve an issue and a intermediary is required.

    each bank has different ways of handling these situations , but what OP should really be after , is what id was used online to open the account , OP should probably find out , im sure ANZ has an application fraud team that can advise him , they might require OP to attend branch for it so that they can actually know its the person who has been defrauded and not a fraudster trying to improve their process.

    being argumentative and un-cooperative could just leave OP open to further fraud. yea going into a branch providing ID can be a hassle , whats worse is having whomever opened this account go to another bank passing the electronic id and having OP find out he has a few surprise CC / Personal loan applications.

• 

  Cave Fire on 30/03/2019 - 18:49

  +3

  My one was finding out my passport was used to leave New Zealand while I was in Australia… no response from any government staff. Hopefully a glitch, but also weird to think there could be someone pretending to be you out there…

  • 

    Love a bargain on 31/03/2019 - 13:38

    Wow~ Did you report this and did you get a new passport? Btw, how did you find out (as I surely don't get alert for when my passport is used)?

    • 

      Cave Fire on 31/03/2019 - 15:07

      +1

      I had to get my travel history for something, can't remember what. There was an extra departure three months after I actually left. Reported and no response.

      • 

        Love a bargain on 02/04/2019 - 15:59

        that must be quite unsettling