A DBS bank account holder was left “unsettled” when a banker allegedly accessed his confidential information without permission and shared this information with him, without verifying his identity first.
The incident came to the bank account holder’s attention when the banker tried to sell him a new savings plan – that turned out to be a retirement insurance plan – on Monday (11 Mar).
In a forum letter published by the national broadsheet on Saturday (16 Mar), Yen Feng shared that a banker called him and made an appointment to meet him at the DBS branch in his neighbourhood to discuss a new financial plan.
When Yen Feng arrived at the branch on Monday, the banker asked to see his identification. When Yen Feng said he did not bring any identification, the banker proceeded to show him a printed account statement clearly detailing his confidential account and financial information.
Recalling that he was left “mystified” that the banker accessed and printed his confidential information without permission and that he showed the information to him “even though he had no way of knowing if I was, indeed, the person I said I was,” Yen Feng confronted the banker, who became flustered and apologised.
According to Yen Feng, the banker admitted that the correct protocol would have been to meet the client in person, verify their identity then access their account in front of the client after seeking permission.
Instead, the banker had accessed the account without permission and had “run a simulation model of my potential earnings beforehand, so that he would have something to present to me when we met.”
Sharing that the incident made him “wonder how serious it is about observing client privacy,” Yen Feng added:
“While I give the young man props for his work ethic, I am curious as to whether he had indeed violated my privacy and what the bank has to say about this.
“I am uncomfortable knowing that any financial planner from DBS is able to access my banking information, know how much money I am saving and, in effect, try to sell me a financial plan.”
Read his forum letter in full HERE.