ubank Suspended Account, Require a Selfie Video

OzyBe on 01/09/2023 - 08:42
Last edited 01/09/2023 - 09:48 by 1 other user

So I was getting an error message when attempting to transfer a small amount of money out of my UBank account this morning.

The error simply says that something has gone wrong. Please try again. So after multiple attempts, I made contact with UBank support.

They advised me that the account is on hold, and that I need to record a security video of myself, and send it to them before the account can be unlocked.

I have never heard of anything like this before. It almost sounds like some sort of a scam. I asked if this is something they do for everyone, and they said yes.

Any comments from others that have experienced this?

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Comments

  • cashless on 01/09/2023 - 08:51
    +25

    They are a bank. They have your money.
    They think they can do what the hell they want

    • coffeeinmyveins on 01/09/2023 - 11:50
      +21

      They think they can do what the hell they want

      They don't think, they know they can.

    • lltravel on 03/09/2023 - 19:03
      +1

      the fact that people think this is ok is the reason they continue to do this crap
      you're held hostage by a private company which in turn should be illegal
      this is why we need a decentralized system asap, wish more business would adopt bitcoin
      no one can tell you who owns what. you control your own money

  • mrkorrupt on 01/09/2023 - 08:54
    +19

    I think its the more intimate version of Know your Customer, They are trying to make sure you are you.

    • CyberMurning on 01/09/2023 - 09:17
      +61

      why not invite me for candle light dinner at 5 star hotel.. that is the most intimate

      • JimB on 01/09/2023 - 10:38
        +3

        Dinner and cavity search.

        • mrkorrupt on 04/09/2023 - 10:17
          +1

          the cavity, that is when you get your rent / interest rate increase letter.
          bend over and take it happily

      • mountaineer on 03/09/2023 - 17:36

        If you contribute like1% + plus of their net profit margin, you can have dinner of any size , anywhere and anyone from Ubank :)

      • ShiKu on 04/09/2023 - 20:05
        +1

        Probably because they know you can't afford the 5 star hotel dinner

  • jv on 01/09/2023 - 09:08
    +8

    Contact the Ombudsman.

    • DoctorCalculon on 01/09/2023 - 19:30
      +11

      Ombudsman AFCA

      • lint on 04/09/2023 - 10:59
        +4

        I doubt they'd do anything. It sounds like OP's account was flagged as suspicious and the bank is doing some additional checks to confirm the account holder is who they say they are.

        There's no way for us to know why it was flagged. Certainly not accusing the OP of doing anything dodgy but if they were they obviously would withhold that fact.

      • Chazzozz on 04/09/2023 - 17:51

        Ombudsman AFCA ACA

        That’s sure to make them fear you! (not)

        • DoctorCalculon on 04/09/2023 - 22:18

          If that toothless tiger AFCA doesn't do the job, then you go running to ACA with your sob story.
          Whatever happened to that ACA lady Tracy Grimshaw?

  • autonomate on 01/09/2023 - 09:17
    +54

    Hey OP! It's an anti-fraud feature. You could ask about why you were flagged, but they may not tell you. Right now, they need to complete KYC/AML processes, and in this case they believe purely sending them codes or ID documentation isn't enough. This means your account has been flagged as high risk.

    There's so many reasons why this happens, sometimes it's a crappy process the bank has put in place without thinking about it. Sometimes an external company they partner with has flagged your transaction or login/usage data, these are black boxes and current legislation doesn't require the banks to explain why they're denying you access - also those external companies will refuse to offer that information, as it's part of their "proprietary information" (and tbh, sometimes they don't know, because they've thrown all your data against a ML model and for whatever reason it's matched previous "fraudulent" patterns. Other times it's an error.

    If you don't like it, contact their executives (LinkedIn, email), your MP's and the media. Talk about how much it's affected you.

    • inventel on 03/09/2023 - 13:00
      +4

      current legislation doesn't require the banks to explain why they're denying you access

      Not just this, but in some circumstances, the bank isn't allowed to tell you why they're denying you access

      • Richardc on 04/09/2023 - 07:36
        +3

        If they tell people the exact reason, then those ID thief can quickly find another workaround.

      • autonomate on 04/09/2023 - 17:57

        It's not that they're not allowed to, they just believe "security through obscurity" works when it comes to fraud. When in reality, it simply lowers the barrier and makes fraud artificially lower for smaller banks and economies. There isn't any explicit rule, it's usually an internal policy that prevents employees for discussing these measures. No compliance, standard or regulatory body requires a bank not be transparent.

        When in reality, we're allowing very large institutions to survive on incredibly dangerous, and from a security perspective - unprofessional - business practices, purely for the sake of reducing cost and increasing profit. It's cheaper not to build security features. It's more profitable to have less guardrails.

        At least, until we're allowed to sue the companies that knowingly cause this.

        Writes your MP's on the Privacy Act changes.

    • Odin on 05/09/2023 - 14:29

      and in this case they believe purely sending them codes or ID documentation isn't enough

      Kind of ludicrous since you don't require this for opening the account in the first place.

      • autonomate on 05/09/2023 - 14:58

        It's part of making the onboarding experience/customer acquisition easier. It's how tech, and finance companies lure customers in by lowing barriers to signup, and then put any regulatory/compliance requirements on them once they start using the product so they feel like they're "sunk cost", and are more likely to complete those checks.

        Same reason CommBank, as a foreigner, will accept your documents before you arrive - but they won't bother doing anything until you visit them in branch. So you'll technically have an account, a login, and you can transfer money in.. But you can't do anything until you visit them.

  • HardQuiz on 01/09/2023 - 09:38
    +4

    Define small amount.

    Why not use an ATM to withdraw all your balance and close the account?

    • OzyBe on 01/09/2023 - 09:49
      +2

      The small amount was just the qualifier to get bonus interest. External to U Bank, then take it back out.

      • AustriaBargain on 01/09/2023 - 13:50
        -5

        If I were ubank AI that would look suspicious to me.

        • try2bhelpful on 02/09/2023 - 08:13
          +5

          I do that every month. We have the same $200 pingponging between accounts to qualify for the bonus interest. I do it with an automatic transfer to ensure I always qualify.

          • BeamMeUp on 02/09/2023 - 09:28
            +3

            @try2bhelpful: Same, been doing it for years and not heard boo from the bank.

          • OhNoUShiz on 02/09/2023 - 22:52

            @try2bhelpful: What’s the deal on pingponging abt? Care to share? Thanks

            • try2bhelpful on 02/09/2023 - 23:33
              +1

              @OhNoUShiz: You do automatic transfers between the same two accounts to make sure you always have a deposit to meet the requirement.

              • OhNoUShiz on 03/09/2023 - 20:07

                @try2bhelpful: I am with st george incentive saver, the minimum amount to increase is $50 to be eligible for the special interest.

                • try2bhelpful on 04/09/2023 - 00:45

                  @OhNoUShiz: That is painful. Maybe look for alternatives. Ubank has similar interest and this would work with the ping pong.

  • Sinnerator on 01/09/2023 - 10:04
    +1

    oh hell yeah
    anyone seen Twisted Metal
    video yourself
    SMASHING A WATERMELON

  • garetz on 01/09/2023 - 10:15
    +23

    How does a selfie video prove anything ? That sounds like an idiotic thing to ask for. How is that even a security measure.

    • [Deactivated] on 01/09/2023 - 10:22
      +1

      This. It's useless without any photo ID, and 100 points of ID including a photo ID should be more than enough.
      Wow. I'd be leaving them ASAP.

      • rumblytangara on 01/09/2023 - 12:17
        +9

        OP didn't go into specifics, but I'd expect they'd want a video of yourself holding a drivers license or a passport.

        GoGet (carsharing) does that for their signups, iirc.

        Sure, it's not watertight and you could fake the document, but it's probably good enough to filter out a lot of chaff and uBank doesn't have a PWM arm.

        • MMM on 03/09/2023 - 20:41
          +3

          Check instructions of the selfie video, if it involves nudity, assume it as fake? otherwise make it entertaining and get creative!

          • pandawelch on 03/09/2023 - 21:54

            @MMM: Apparently thumbprints are not secure enough, but there are other areas with unique patterns ;-)

      • Richardc on 04/09/2023 - 07:44
        +1

        The bank should already have a photocopy of the ID, they are trying to verify the person on the other end is matching the banks photo ID record.

    • try2bhelpful on 03/09/2023 - 08:45
      +1

      I think that is more my issue. They should organise a zoom meeting, or equivalent, and talk to the person directly. That way they can ask some random questions and avoid any AI type generation. This sounds like some security guy playing Australia has talent. Do the best and most original win a piggy bank?

      • Tleyx on 03/09/2023 - 08:54

        Send a selfie video of a AI avatar and see if they notice

        • try2bhelpful on 03/09/2023 - 10:09
          +2

          I used to work for one of the four big banks. I had a friend who stuck a picture of a teddy bear over his actual picture on his pass and it was there for years. They were proximity readers and security never checked them.

    • Cozzie on 04/09/2023 - 16:31

      The first assumption is that deep fakes are still not used en masse. The selfie video is cross referenced with your ID in the system. It's the same system used at immigration.

  • JafferMoney on 01/09/2023 - 10:43

    OP is a drug mule?

  • grasstown on 01/09/2023 - 11:02
    +9

    We used to go into banks or post offices to prove things. Explains their efforts to get rid of them. Holgate was making post offices sustainable and profitable, with bank at post, but Morrison a banker boy made sure that didn’t happen.

  • Ocker on 01/09/2023 - 11:18
    +2

    So how are they going to verify whether the video is of yourself?

    • DoctorCalculon on 01/09/2023 - 19:33
      +1

      AI to match photo ID against person's face (if fully automated).

      Revolut does the same thing.

      • Ocker on 01/09/2023 - 19:46
        +3

        Cannot recall needing to provide a photo ID when I opened my account?

        • Randolph Duke on 05/09/2023 - 19:04

          Didn’t provide a drivers license number?

  • dtc on 01/09/2023 - 11:20

    Since banks have been fined $100s of millions (eg CBA was $700m), bank are more conservative with KYC and if you fall into a pattern then you are busted.

  • Prop Trader on 01/09/2023 - 11:32
    +1

    Sounds fake. Have you tried logging in on the website. If it asks you to provide the selfie video there then I would be more inclined to say it was real.

    However, if you are just sending a video to a random link, then that's definitely a scam and you probably installed the fake ubank app which was floating around a while back.

    As far as I'm aware there is no feature on the Ubank app to access the camera; so it's almost 100% fake.

    Furthermore, never had an issue with sending in and out money within seconds of each other… *Especially of the same amount…

    • dazweeja on 03/09/2023 - 21:42
      +1

      The app isnt asking him to do it. He called ubank and they asked him to do it.

  • mrvaluepack on 01/09/2023 - 11:32

    wow first time i've heard about this if this is true…

    usually its just a face ID scan on your phone.

  • p1 ama on 01/09/2023 - 11:47
    +1

    Sigh, would you rather they not implement security measures and make it easier for anyone with a photo of you to commit identity theft and steal all of your money?

    • grasstown on 01/09/2023 - 11:58
      +3

      Why not speak to someone in person. With official ID documents? What good is a photo or video?

      • p1 ama on 01/09/2023 - 13:37

        Why not speak to someone in person.

        That's what they are doing - you submit your ID documents, and then a video which is difficult to forge, then an actual person will go through and determine whether you are the person you say you are.

        • grasstown on 01/09/2023 - 14:08
          +1

          But your info is on a database, not stored locally

      • Roentgenium on 03/09/2023 - 18:10

        It's a digital only bank, there are no people to speak to in person.

        • grasstown on 03/09/2023 - 19:34
          -1

          We used to use post offices in these circumstances. There is no justification for digital id verification

          • Randolph Duke on 05/09/2023 - 19:05

            @grasstown: Sure there is - why waste my time going somewhere if I can just send it to them?

    • burningrage on 01/09/2023 - 13:04
      +2

      Funny, maybe that's a reason NOT to close more branches?

      • nobro25 on 04/09/2023 - 16:48
        +1

        Ubank has never got a physical branch in my recollection.

      • Neeko on 05/09/2023 - 10:29

        Online only bank.

    • cookie2 on 01/09/2023 - 22:10

      I'd like them to implement inform processes so that ppl aren't unsure or confused about whether or not they're being scammed. But hey, maybe that's a big ask.

  • coffeeinmyveins on 01/09/2023 - 11:50
    +2

    It almost sounds like some sort of a scam

    Why? you're talking with ubank, right?

    It's called Know Your Customer.

    You've obviously done SOMETHING that has triggered your account to be put on hold. Do you log into it via different VPNs and do weird transfers or something?

    The alternative is that they don't implement these measures, and you get your identity stolen. Can't have your cake and eat it too.

    • jv on 01/09/2023 - 12:52

      Do you log into it via different VPNs and do weird transfers or something?

      What does that have to do with it?

      • coffeeinmyveins on 01/09/2023 - 14:31
        +3

        because websites, especially banks use many signals to determine if you are a bad actor and one of them is likely to be where you login from

        • jv on 01/09/2023 - 14:45

          where you login from

          They don't know where I am logging in from

          • Ade99 on 02/09/2023 - 08:42

            @jv: They have your IP

            • jv on 02/09/2023 - 11:39

              @Ade99: You can spoof the IP

              • gromit on 02/09/2023 - 21:39

                @jv: you can, but not when you need to get responses from the bank app. I don't know any bank apps that are purely unidirectional. Your IP address gives them a lot of information and VPN's etc can trigger impossible travel alerts raising the risk level of your account.

              • dazweeja on 03/09/2023 - 21:44

                @jv: My account (with another bank) was put on hold because I was logging in from Bali.

          • Gareth on 02/09/2023 - 09:08
            +4

            @jv: The IP address you're logging into gives an approximation of your location.

            Presumably if

            • The country isn't Australia, or
            • the locality keeps changing

            they may consider you dodgy

    • autonomate on 02/09/2023 - 11:59

      It often isn't "obvious" though. Sometimes using Firefox will flag your account. Or if you pay for Apple's iCloud+ plan, using the Apple-provided VPN will flag you.

  • djkelly69 on 01/09/2023 - 11:57
    +6

    I hope you are currently learning some sort of TikTok dance so you can do it in the selfie video you send back to them.

  • bobbified on 01/09/2023 - 12:07
    +11

    …I need to record a security video of myself,

    Did they specify whether you should be clothed or not?

  • Aust on 01/09/2023 - 19:26

    During Covid we had to do the same, also holding your license for a home loan requirement

    • Prop Trader on 02/09/2023 - 10:27

      Was this sent through an unencrypted channel such as email?

      This will help with further investigations and possible levying of fines.

      Furthermore, the reference to covid is irrelevant for a digital bank. If these are the same procedures still being deployed that is a serious problem…

      • SolitaryMan on 04/09/2023 - 18:30

        Not irrelevant, the rules around certification of documents for AML/CTF purposes changed to allow for virtual sighting of the originals due to the pandemic and lockdowns.

        And nice try on your attempt to catch them out, but I’m pretty sure the video call wasn’t conducted over email.

    • try2bhelpful on 02/09/2023 - 08:14
      +3

      You are talking about Trump not Biden.

      • pufffdragon on 03/09/2023 - 10:42
        -2

        Are you smoking the same crack as Hunter Biden? It's definitely Biden.

        • try2bhelpful on 03/09/2023 - 10:50
          +1

          You are the one with the moniker puffdragon. I wouldn’t accuse me of smoking anything when you are, practically, screaming you do.

  • jrvb42 on 02/09/2023 - 11:05
    +1

    Complain to ombudsman. Close the account. Lesson time for the bank.

    • gromit on 02/09/2023 - 21:43
      +1

      not sure what complaining to the ombudsman is supposed to do. They have triggered the KYC processes, they are legally obligated to verify your identity.

      • onceupon8 on 03/09/2023 - 08:40
        -1

        The bank is choosing to ask for a privacy invading way to do it that is going too far. Going to AFCA would help teach the bank that people aren't comfortable with such requests and that the bank should choose more commonly accepted ways of verifying your identity.

        But communication is king - firstly tell the bank that you aren't comfortable with their request and give them an opportunity to give you a more reasonable way to verify your identity such as a form that you can take to the post office. For your situation, if it's really about multiple country IP addresses, asking you questions over the phone would be a more reasonable solution - in which case they would work out the problem is that you are using a VPN.

        • gromit on 03/09/2023 - 08:45
          +1

          be a tough ask since the selfie approach is recommended by Austrac. People may not be comfortable with it, but that doesn't make them legally wrong.

          • onceupon8 on 03/09/2023 - 11:26

            @gromit: You are taking their advice out of context. Their guidance clearly is about alternative options during the COVID pandemic. Two important points:
            (1) Their guidance mentions: AUSTRAC intends to repeal these amendments to Part 4.15 following the conclusion of the COVID-19 pandemic
            (2) Their guidance mentions that there should be alternative options for customers with no access to technology.

            • gromit on 03/09/2023 - 11:30
              +1

              @onceupon8: He is dealing with an ONLINE ONLY bank. As of yet those provisions haven't been repealed and regardless they remain the only way for an online bank to face to face verification, only real options are video selfie or video call as you can't ask someone to come into a branch that doesn't exist.

              • Magnastar on 03/09/2023 - 16:54

                @gromit: Macquarie refused to update my mobile number without taking a selfie, which I’m completely uncomfortable with. They have a branch in Brisbane so I asked if I could just go in there and sort it out and they still told me I couldn’t update it without a selfie.

                There were no access restrictions and I could login fine they just wouldn’t update my number without a selfie even after I authenticated myself and gave them a number of transactions from that day. Ended up just transferring my funds out and abandoned the accounts.

                So it’s not just online only banks there must be some value in selfies beyond verification purposes.

        • SolitaryMan on 04/09/2023 - 18:32

          Great idea, then the banks will start imposing a processing fee in such instances to cover the costs of people who don’t understand how the system works going to AFCA.

  • bamzero on 02/09/2023 - 12:43
    +2

    This KYC crap is getting out of hand.

    On another note, while I love the convenience of paying with tap and go I'm not unaware that when we are fully cashless we are all going to be screwed.

  • Spectatie on 02/09/2023 - 13:25
    +3

    I got a mail that my account was locked due to suspicious activity soon after getting a notification via the ubank app confirming an inwards funds transfer that I had instigated. The domains in the mail links were a red flag to me and my account is still good in the app. I'm classing it as a phish attempt.

    • localhost on 03/09/2023 - 01:16
      +1

      Never click on ANY link from email/text. Open a new browser and go to bank website.

  • Peon on 02/09/2023 - 21:54
    +1

    Just a selfie or a nude selfie?

    • jatbinks on 02/09/2023 - 22:22

      Exactly this. Make sure you make it a little cheeky. Like just show the tip and be like oops.

      • nobro25 on 04/09/2023 - 16:50

        Freudian slip dick pic will be nice.

      • SolitaryMan on 04/09/2023 - 18:33

        There are easier ways to ensure your account is closed that don’t involve putting your nudes on the internet (for free).

  • Scope on 02/09/2023 - 22:28
    +4

    They are doing it to protect your account. So many people here against kyc, and yet we also have many people that like to blame the banks when people get their funds stolen and how banks need to be held accountable.

    • factor on 03/09/2023 - 00:25
      +3

      People against centralised security methods are welcome to use Bitcoin and be responsible for their own losses with no recourse.

    • nobro25 on 04/09/2023 - 16:51

      Well people are scared at data leaks. Remember the one that happened to Optus? Imagine if that happened to one of the big four banks.

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