Absolutely ridiculous system

Around 4pm on the 1st of January I got an email from a website saying my payment had been unsuccessful. Strange, since I wasn't at my credit limit. No matter, pay with another card.
8 hours later I get a text from a mobile number asking if I recognise the transaction and to reply "Yes" or "No". Oh and my card's been blocked.
So for 8 hours my card was blocked without giving me any notice.
Based on a transaction which I've made each month for almost a year with no issue.
Then I get a text from a seemingly random mobile number asking me for information about my banking.

This is ridiculous on several levels.
Firstly, can I get confirmation that this text is from Bank of Ireland? Because all intuition would suggest that it's a phishing attempt.
Secondly, if the text from a mobile number is indeed from Bank of Ireland, could you tell me if 8 hours is a normal and reasonable amount of time to lock a card without notifying the customer?
Thirdly, could you tell me if there is any manual oversight of the procedure? Because a brief glance at transactions would show that I make a monthly payment and would raise no eyebrows. If it's automated it's a terrible system that can't detect a regular transaction of the same amount to the same place on the same day every month.

Multipass

I just came here to post the exact same thing. I’m relieved to see your post because I was worried that it was yet more fraud on their text system. My card was suspended over a 1 euro donation which has been paid on a recurring monthly basis for the past 2 years. I didn’t see the text all day, so now I have to check if any other payments have been declined. What a pain in the arse, it’s beyond ridiculous.

Edit - I’m getting spammed with this response, 4 texts so far. Now I am getting worried it’s a scam.

Your account will be fully operational shortly. Please check the transaction has been approved by the company you have been dealing with.

All good Multipass? I got 2 of those texts, card seems to be working OK today.

Multipass

Deleted User wrote: »

All good Multipass? I got 2 of those texts, card seems to be working OK today.

Yes, I guess it was legit. Bit late on their part to flag a transaction that’s been happening for 2 years...

The chan chan man

Banks take note - Personally I ignore all text correspondence from “banks” as I assume they’re phishing attempts.

If you want me - call or write to me. Don’t dare give me 8 hours notice.

Bank of Ireland: Aisling

Hi Buttonftw,

Thanks for reaching out to us here on Boards.ie.

Yes, our Card Security Team would send you a SMS/Email asking for you to confirm a transaction. They will ask you to respond with 'Yes' or 'No'. Bank of Ireland will never contact you asking for any of your account or online information.

If you are ever unsure of the message you received, or would like further guidance on this, you can certainly get in touch with our Card Security Team directly on 01 488 54 66.

I have also attached a link here to more information on fraud awareness and smishing etc. I hope this helps.

Thanks, Aisling

Multipass

Bank of Ireland: Aisling wrote: »

Hi Buttonftw,

Thanks for reaching out to us here on Boards.ie.

Yes, our Card Security Team would send you a SMS/Email asking for you to confirm a transaction. They will ask you to respond with 'Yes' or 'No'. Bank of Ireland will never contact you asking for any of your account or online information.

If you are ever unsure of the message you received, or would like further guidance on this, you can certainly get in touch with our Card Security Team directly on 01 488 54 66.

I have also attached a link here to more information on fraud awareness and smishing etc. I hope this helps.

Thanks, Aisling

My card has just been suspended again over the exact same transaction as my post above 2 months ago. How many times do I have to text YES for the same transaction (which has been running monthly for years without causing any problems. And if your system is still flagging it, how did it miss last month? 
Very annoying.

Champ

I wonder if its the merchant name as opposed to the amount of the spend that flags it as suspicious to BOI and thus requires text confirmation to confirm the transaction?

For example I spent larger amounts at merchants A and C and didn't receive the text message.
I got the text message for smaller amounts at merchants B and D. 

Thus I'm thinking certain websites are automatically considered risky by BOI and will automatically trigger the text message regardless of the amount / history you have using it.

Bank of Ireland: Richard F

Multipass wrote: »

Bank of Ireland: Aisling wrote: »

Hi Buttonftw,

Thanks for reaching out to us here on Boards.ie.

Yes, our Card Security Team would send you a SMS/Email asking for you to confirm a transaction. They will ask you to respond with 'Yes' or 'No'. Bank of Ireland will never contact you asking for any of your account or online information.

If you are ever unsure of the message you received, or would like further guidance on this, you can certainly get in touch with our Card Security Team directly on 01 488 54 66.

I have also attached a link here to more information on fraud awareness and smishing etc. I hope this helps.

Thanks, Aisling

My card has just been suspended again over the exact same transaction as my post above 2 months ago. How many times do I have to text YES for the same transaction (which has been running monthly for years without causing any problems. And if your system is still flagging it, how did it miss last month? 
Very annoying.

We're really sorry to hear this Multipass.

To look into this further, it would be best to link in with our colleagues on ROI Freephone 1800946764. One of our colleagues will be happy to look into this further for you.

Thanks,
Richard