Customers using mobile banking apps for Lloyds, Halifax, and Bank of Scotland have reported a serious technical issue that appeared to display transactions belonging to other people.
The incident emerged on Thursday morning.
Lloyds Banking Group has launched an investigation after some users said unfamiliar payments and account activity were appearing in their apps. The bank has apologised and says the problem has now been resolved.
Halifax said it was aware some customers were “having issues with viewing transactions and balances”. Bank of Scotland is also “investigating the issue” .
However, questions remain about how the error occurred and whether any personal financial information may have been exposed.
Customers reported seeing unfamiliar transactions
Reports began circulating when customers noticed transactions in their app histories that they did not recognise.
Some users said the entries appeared to relate to completely different individuals, including purchases made in other parts of the UK and payments linked to employers they did not recognise.
In one case reported by the BBC, a Bank of Scotland customer said that each time she logged in and out of the app, a different set of account details appeared on the screen. She said the information included salary payments and benefit references linked to National Insurance numbers.
The user said the information visible amount to almost “their whole identity.”
Around the same time, online outage monitoring service Downdetector recorded a sharp increase in reports of problems affecting the Lloyds and Bank of Scotland mobile banking apps. Halifax users also reported some disruption during the same window.
Why incidents like this raise concerns
Even when caused by a technical glitch rather than a cyber-attack, incidents that allow customers to see other people’s financial information can raise serious privacy concerns.
Banking apps typically contain sensitive personal data, including payment histories, employer information, and references linked to government payments.
If that information becomes visible to other users, even temporarily, it can potentially expose personal and financial details that were never meant to be shared.
Customers who noticed unfamiliar transactions or account details in their banking apps may want to keep an eye on their accounts and report any concerns to their bank.
This is a breaking story and more information is expected about what caused the issue and whether any personal data may have been involved. We will provide updates as soon as we have them.
