Lloyds Banking Group is conducting an inquiry following reports from some of its customers at Lloyds, Halifax, and Bank of Scotland who claimed they could access the transactions of other users via their app and online banking platforms.
According to one individual who spoke to the BBC, she had visibility into the accounts of six different users on her Bank of Scotland app within a 20-minute timeframe. Among the transactions she allegedly witnessed were benefit payments from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), utilizing the recipients’ National Insurance numbers as payment references.
Additionally, she noted seeing payments from a Newcastle pub and transactions to Waitrose, despite the absence of a nearby Waitrose store. Notably, consumer advocate Martin Lewis shared that people had reported viewing unauthorized transactions before the app reverted to displaying their own transactions.
The extent of the impact remains uncertain, considering Lloyds Banking Group serves approximately 26 million customers. The issue emerged around 7 am, coinciding with a surge in complaints on the DownDetector outage tracker.
In response to the incident, a spokesperson for Lloyds Banking Group expressed regret over the brief disruption in transaction viewing within the app and assured customers that the matter was promptly addressed, with investigations ongoing.
Some customers shared their unsettling experiences, including one individual who described feeling as though they were glimpsing into someone else’s financial affairs upon logging into their banking app and encountering unfamiliar transactions. The affected customer expressed concerns about data security and the distress caused by the unexpected financial details displayed in their account, emphasizing the importance of trust and transparency in banking services.