banking confidentiality please read?

Carlowgirl

Hi just a quick query
I have a feeling that someone I kinda know has been checking my account. My account is not with their branch but they work in another branch of the same bank. They made a comment one day about day in general conversation but I had never even told them I was with that bank.
This leads me to think that they have been checking my account due to the nature of what was said.
Is this legal for people to check friends account s and how do I go about finding out if they did
It feels uncomfortable them knowing my business... Thanks in advance.

Sue Pa Key Pa

Every computer system leaves an operator trail. If you have concerns, make a complaint and it should be easily verified

Jim2007

Carlowgirl wrote: »

This leads me to think that they have been checking my account due to the nature of what was said.
Is this legal for people to check friends account s and how do I go about finding out if they did
It feels uncomfortable them knowing my business... Thanks in advance.

It is also almost impossible to do so unless authorized by someone more senior. Banks are very concerned about staff doing exactly that kind of thing, which is why they required software vendors like myself to include monitoring tools in our software to detect and report such activity.

I'm not going to go into great detail for obvious reasons, but typical activities monitored would include:
- Staff doing name searches when not at the front desk
- Staff doing surname searches only
- Staff doing searches on their own surname or variations there of
And so on.

When it comes to accessing actually accounts that again is very restricted and subject to similar close monitoring.

You need to realize though that you are not special in banking terms, your actions are typical of most customers, so an experienced staffer's comments may hit home without them actually knowing your specifics.

At the very most all your friend would know in the general course of their job is that you are a customer. Now you can go ahead and make a complaint and loose a friend if it makes you feel better that is up to you....

Carlowgirl

Jim2007 wrote: »

It is also almost impossible to do so unless authorized by someone more senior. Banks are very concerned about staff doing exactly that kind of thing, which is why they required software vendors like myself to include monitoring tools in our software to detect and report such activity.

I'm not going to go into great detail for obvious reasons, but typical activities monitored would include:
- Staff doing name searches when not at the front desk
- Staff doing surname searches only
- Staff doing searches on their own surname or variations there of
And so on.

When it comes to accessing actually accounts that again is very restricted and subject to similar close monitoring.

You need to realize though that you are not special in banking terms, your actions are typical of most customers, so an experienced staffer's comments may hit home without them actually knowing your specifics.

At the very most all your friend would know in the general course of their job is that you are a customer. Now you can go ahead and make a complaint and loose a friend if it makes you feel better that is up to you....

Hi. I'm not sure what you mean but thanks for your comment. It's a friend of a friend and they made a comment about me being a customer of that bank in general conversation. I'm not worried about losing them and even if it was a friend. What kind of friend goes snooping through some ones account. Do you think the bank would confirm if people I'm other branches had been in the account?

Sue Pa Key Pa

Did this person just say you were a customer, rather than anything specific about your account? That's a very general comment, I would have thought. Did you ever produce your bank card at a shop or somewhere with the bank logo showing?

listermint

Carlowgirl wrote: »

Hi. I'm not sure what you mean but thanks for your comment. It's a friend of a friend and they made a comment about me being a customer of that bank in general conversation. I'm not worried about losing them and even if it was a friend. What kind of friend goes snooping through some ones account. Do you think the bank would confirm if people I'm other branches had been in the account?

Very simple they can't go into your account but can know you have an account.


Does that irk you ?

Carlowgirl

Hi thanks again
Ok that makes more sense. No wouldn't be out socially with them for them to see my bank card just in the same company the odd time and thought it was odd they knew I was customer. I have heard of someone else having their account snooped on and they knew everything

Jim2007

Carlowgirl wrote: »

Hi thanks again
I have heard of someone else having their account snooped on and they knew everything

That is simply not possible unless the person doing the snooping was some one very senior in the bank.  Where they in fact a such a person?????

Nervous Wreck

Jim2007 wrote: »

That is simply not possible unless the person doing the snooping was some one very senior in the bank.  Where they in fact a such a person?????

I don't see how it could be deemed impossible.


OP, if all they said was that you had an account, there's possibly a very valid reason for them knowing, outside of snooping. For example, your name could have appeared on a random report they were dealing with or something. Inappropriate of them to mention it to you, for sure, but not exactly evidence of inappropriate behaviour otherwise.

Carlowgirl

Nervous Wreck wrote: »

I don't see how it could be deemed impossible.


OP, if all they said was that you had an account, there's possibly a very valid reason for them knowing, outside of snooping. For example, your name could have appeared on a random report they were dealing with or something. Inappropriate of them to mention it to you, for sure, but not exactly evidence of inappropriate behaviour otherwise.

Hi no I ve never been in that branch.
So don't see how they would be dealing with any of my business.

Carlowgirl

Jim2007 wrote: »

That is simply not possible unless the person doing the snooping was some one very senior in the bank.  Where they in fact a such a person?????

No they are not senior... Not 100 percent sure if that story is true..

cnoc

Carlowgirl, I'm not dismissing what you said in your OP, but, what you are stating in your posts is hearsay. Does your friend you mentioned in the OP know which branch of the bank you are a customer?

Nervous Wreck

Carlowgirl wrote: »

Hi no I ve never been in that branch.
So don't see how they would be dealing with any of my business.

Well without an in depth knowledge of the workings of the bank as a whole, you really have no idea what information staff in any branch is legitimately privy to.

Carlowgirl

cnoc wrote: »

Carlowgirl, I'm not dismissing what you said in your OP, but, what you are stating in your posts is hearsay. Does your friend you mentioned in the OP know which branch of the bank you are a customer?

No she just knew I was a customer but she does nt work anywhere near my branch. It just bugs me of she has been nosing through my account. She knew I was a customer of the bank and mentioned it in general conversation. I lost my bank card on holiday and she said I should have told our mutual friend and she would have sorted something out for me or checked if my card had been stolen.. I was shocked.. I was thinking how the hell do you know I'm a customer
.... I didn't say anything but it's bugging me she wouldn't have said that if she didn't know I was a customer.. we only have a mutual friend and I certainly wouldn't have rang her for her to check through my account..... And see how much I get paid etc...

368100

I've worked for one of the country's main banks over a significant period and I can tell you for that bank there is no control on what accounts you can access with the exception of staff accounts and some private banking accounts.

The general Joe soaps account is accessible by anyone In any branch by name search. Most back office departments have access also and the seniority of staff is irrelevant.

There may be monitoring going on for what search activity is carried out but I have seen plenty of accessing of accounts for inappropriate reasons and never seen anybody pulled up over it.

Now I'm only talking get about one bank in this case, but it would be one of the main ones.

Not trying to scare anyone, just calling it as I've seen with my own eyes over a number of years.

With respect jim2007, my experience of this seems very different to yours....all of this is very possible and banks don't restrict account access to senior staff as that would be unfeasible

Carlowgirl

368100 wrote: »

I've worked for one of the country's main banks over a significant period and I can tell you for that bank there is no control on what accounts you can access with the exception of staff accounts and some private banking accounts.

The general Joe soaps account is accessible by anyone In any branch by name search. Most back office departments have access also and the seniority of staff is irrelevant.

There may be monitoring going on for what search activity is carried out but I have seen plenty of accessing of accounts for inappropriate reasons and never seen anybody pulled up over it.

Now I'm only talking get about one bank in this case, but it would be one of the main ones.

Not trying to scare anyone, just calling it as I've seen with my own eyes over a number of years.

With respect jim2007, my experience of this seems very different to yours....all of this is very possible and banks don't restrict account access to senior staff as that would be unfeasible

Thanks. Thats what I was thinking. This person had no reason to know I was customer and they k.ew and even said they could have checked to see if my card had been used while I lost it in another country... I am fuming over it but don't want to cause trouble with our mutual friend.. I feel violated..

phormium

I think there are many reasons how this person could have known you had an account in that bank. They may have done relief work in the other branch, branches often have to swap around staff in emergency situations. That branch might be responsible for an atm somewhere that you might have used, who knows what reports transactions can pop up on and be seen.

Do you have a chequebook? If you did cheque could have come in any customer's lodgement. I'm not sure how debit/credit card system works these days but there is a banking element to that too so who knows what transactions could be seen in that situation too.

It would not necessarily need to be something direct to you, it could be interaction between you and one of that branch's customers. For example if you did a bank transfer (this can cover lots of payments not just directly) your name and possibly bank details would appear on the the other person's bank account, that person could be a customer of her bank and she could have been asked to check payments in for them.

Loads of reasons how it could happen, I'm sure I could think of even more given time. Now I haven't worked in the bank for a few years but there was no restrictions on looking up anyone's account, how could there be? You could be asked to check anything by a customer, tourist comes in with account in another part of the country and of course you need to be able to look it up at the counter. Now there was procedures where you were not meant to be looking them up for no reason and if it was pulled by whatever surveillance methods they had in place then you obviously had to have a reason for doing the enquiry.

But on the other hand people working in banks have far less interest in your account than you think they have, they don't spend their days checking on their friends/acquaintances to see what they earn. It might be interesting in your first week working but it becomes very uninteresting quickly when you spend your day looking at accounts on a computer screen. To be honest the only way to avoid anyone ever knowing you have an account with a bank is to not have one, someone will always know, same as people know what doctors surgery you use, even if only because they see you coming and going.

I remember one couple who were regulars in my branch for years, they asked me not to say hello to them if they met me in the street or people would know they had an account in the branch! Paranoid or what.

phormium

On further reflection in fact the most simple explanation is that your mutual friend mentioned it or you did yourself on initial introduction. As in, hi mary, this is my friend john, john works for xyz bank, oh says mary I bank with xyz, conversation moves on to other things and comment is forgotten until now when john seems to know something he shouldn't. Now it might not be the first thing said in the conversation but where or what you work at is a pretty common topic when people meet. Equally your friend could have mentioned it to the mutual friend, I assume she has been with you when you have used a card or bank and knows what bank you are with.

It's hardly top secret info what bank you bank with, there are only half a dozen options in the country, even guesswork would be reasonably accurate, now if she was going around telling people your balance or your salary that would be a different story, obviously she's not going to do that as it's a sacking offence.

I'd forget about it if I were you.

TheChizler

Considering there's a couple of major banks and lots of people have multiple bank accounts chances are you had an account with one of them, she could have just assumed and got it right?

Carlowgirl

Hi thanks. No she never would have known I was with that branch and my friend wouldn't have known anyway.. I was left money recently and its bugging me that she checked how much.. As people in the the area would have known about it... I know she did check it...

TheChizler

A minute ago you were saying she didn't know which branch you were a customer of now you're saying she does? What exactly was the comment? To me it just seems that she correctly guessed which bank you're with, unless this is a tiny bank no one's heard of this wouldn't be strange. I don't think you can reasonably extrapolate that she checked your account details based on the information you've given us.

phormium

Well if you were left money maybe the solicitor transferring the funds to your account is one of their customers in the branch, maybe she processed the transaction? Either ways what on earth can you do to avoid that, so she knows, so what! The people in the solicitor's office know, in fact if it was in a Will it will be public knowledge eventually and the whole of Ireland can check if they want. Build a bridge, you'll only torment yourself over nothing, she's not giving you or your money a second thought.

Carlowgirl

TheChizler wrote: »

A minute ago you were saying she didn't know which branch you were a customer of now you're saying she does? What exactly was the comment? To me it just seems that she correctly guessed which bank you're with, unless this is a tiny bank no one's heard of this wouldn't be strange. I don't think you can reasonably extrapolate that she checked your account details based on the information you've given us.

She has no reason to know what branch or bank I am with or anything of the sort. But she obviously knows and has no reason to... well if it was a revenue or social welfare staff member checking on someone it would be a big deal so why not with the bank

Anyway I find some of the comments unhelpful here so gonna leave the thread.. Don't know why people throw out derogatory comments on the interney just cos they can I.e. The last poster... It wasn't a will it was a divorce so no one should know my business.... gonna leave this thread now.. Thanks for the replies...

Zaph

Now hang on a minute, you've gone from it being a feeling that someone's checked your account in your OP

Carlowgirl wrote: »

I have a feeling that someone I kinda know has been checking my account.

To now stating outright that this person has checked your account

Carlowgirl wrote: »

Hi thanks. No she never would have known I was with that branch and my friend wouldn't have known anyway.. I was left money recently and its bugging me that she checked how much.. As people in the the area would have known about it... I know she did check it...

And all this based on zero evidence whatsoever on your part, merely a feeling based on a passing comment from another friend. Personally I know which bank many of my friends bank with, but I couldn't tell you exactly how I discovered that information over the years, it's probably come up in conversations, or I've seen their bank cards or whatever.

If you believe that there has been inappropriate behaviour by a member of a bank's staff then you should contact the manager of the branch in question and raise those concerns, but you should be prepared to be able to back them up with something more substantial than the story you're giving us here. If you're unable to do that then I suggest you forget about the whole thing as you're unfairly tarring someone with an unfounded accusation that could potentially harm their career.

Carlowgirl

Zaph wrote: »

Now hang on a minute, you've gone from it being a feeling that someone's checked your account in yo

And all this based on zero evidence whatsoever on your part, merely a feeling based on a passing comment from another friend. Personally I know which bank many of my friends bank with, but I couldn't tell you exactly how I discovered that information over the years, it's probably come up in conversations, or I've seen their bank cards or whatever.

If you believe that there has been inappropriate behaviour by a member of a bank's staff then you should contact the manager of the branch in question and raise those concerns, but you should be prepared to be able to back them up with something more substantial than the story you're giving us here. If you're unable to do that then I suggest you forget about the whole thing as you're unfairly tarring someone with an unfounded accusation that could potentially harm their career.

I have not mentioned her name the bank the area of the country etc on here or anywhere so not fair to say I am ruining ger career
I have left out details here for obvious reasons. I started the tread to ask if it's possible for clerks to do this and if it's allowed. It has been brought to my attention that she has checked my account and gossiped about it. I merely wanted to.find outut if this is possible and legal
I don't need any further information from this thread thanks...

Bubbaclaus

This entire story seems made up. Story full of inconsistencies and changes with every post.

Zaph

Carlowgirl wrote: »

It has been brought to my attention that she has checked my account and gossiped about it.

No it hasn't, if it had you would have mentioned it before because it would be more definite evidence to back up your story than anything you've posted so far. You're simply adding details to your story to back up your previous assertions because you don't like what you're being told here.

Jim2007

368100 wrote: »

With respect jim2007, my experience of this seems very different to yours....all of this is very possible and banks don't restrict account access to senior staff as that would be unfeasible

Irish banks use our software, which monitors access but does not restrict it. Unless a supervisor is concerned about your activity and asks you to justify yourself, there is no reason to know that you are being monitored...

Jim2007

Carlowgirl wrote: »

It has been brought to my attention that she has checked my account and gossiped about it.

Credibility just dropped to zero!!!

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

tanit

Just my two cents. If she makes a complaint without solid evidence three things can happen:

1. The bank will investigate check for inappropriate activities in her account and take action privately without her (the op) being told anything untoward happened. The reason for that being is that they open themselves to litigation and bad publicity and there is no way in hell they are going to admit that something like that happened and pay compensation for it
2. The bank will investigate check for inappropriate activities in her account and take action publicly letting the op know about the situation apologise, etc. Highly unlikely
3. The bank will do nothing

The most likely scenarios are 1 and 3. In short she is not going to get anywhere. It's not that she is not right it's that certain things are very difficult to prove and even if you have evidence people will not be willing to admit they are at fault. It's human nature and it doesn't mean things like this don't happen. Burying your head on the ground and denying things per se is not the answer and going around spreading unfounded rumours is not the answer either. Taking things with a pinch of salt might be more helpful.

The software monitors but doesn't restrict access. It may or may not have happened and unfortunately she doesn't have any proof right about it. It's human nature to be worried about our privacy I don't understand why people are becoming so touchy about this affair

OP if you are worried about the issue but do not want to take the whole thing with the bank, just talk with this person and let her/him know of your concerns and how this worries you. A plain "how do you know about me having an account, etc?" would be sufficient and you can get reassurance about the whole affair and peace of mind.

If you have more serious concerns about it and want to proceed with a proper complaint with the bank, modern phones have a recording feature or you might be able to get a recording app. Get this person to admit the whole thing and record it. After that you have solid evidence and can take it to the bank proper. With that they will at least be forced to act.

If they don't act, take it to a consumer association, newspaper, etc.

I hope this helps