Lloyds Banking Group has initiated an inquiry following reports from some of its Lloyds, Halifax, and Bank of Scotland patrons who claimed they could access the transactions of other users through their app and online banking services.
According to a statement to the BBC, a woman disclosed that she could view 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 recipients’ National Insurance numbers as payment references.
Additionally, she noted payments from a pub in Newcastle, located 154 miles away from her residence in Kirkcaldy, Fife, and transactions to Waitrose, despite the absence of a nearby Waitrose store.
Consumer advocate Martin Lewis shared on X about individuals contacting him regarding the exposure of others’ transactions. Many users also reported seeing unfamiliar payments before the app reverted to displaying their own transactions.
The exact number of affected individuals remains uncertain, given Lloyds Banking Group’s vast customer base of around 26 million. The issue seems to have surfaced around 7 a.m., coinciding with a surge in complaints on the DownDetector outage tracker.
In response, a spokesperson from Lloyds Banking Group expressed regret over the inconvenience experienced by some customers due to a brief disruption in transaction visibility. The problem was swiftly addressed, and an investigation into the root cause is underway.
One individual recounted to the Press Association her shock upon discovering unfamiliar transactions when accessing her banking app, describing it as akin to peeking into someone else’s financial activities. The Edinburgh-based customer expressed concern over the security of her personal information and the unsettling feeling of mistrusting her own banking app.
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