Bank of Montreal, I hate your security
Posted by: Geoff in Rants, tags: bank of montreal, online banking, passwords, securityOh. My. Lord.
I haven’t been this pissed off in a very, very long time. I actually yelled at the poor person on the phone trying to help me. It’s not her fault. It’s the Bank of Montreal. Who obviously has NO FUCKING CLUE what it’s like to live in the digital age.
Allow me to elaborate…
BMO (the short form of Bank of Montreal) recently introduced new security procedures for their online banking. In addition to your card number and PIN, you choose an image and provide a password. (This is all to prevent phishing.) I welcomed this, since I had similar functionality on my ING account for a couple of years.
So, choose an image, provide a little info, toss in a password. No problem.
Until I came back. Suddenly, my previously wonderful password doesn’t work. No idea why. Could swear I’ve got the right one. Try again. And again. And suddenly, I get a page telling me that my card is locked (thankfully, only online) and to call BMO to have it unlocked.
Which I got around to today. And boy, I can’t think of a worse experience. Ever.
When you need access to personal financial information through your institution, you generally get asked the Big 6:
- Name
- Birthday
- Address
- Phone number
- Social Insurance (or Social Security) Number
- Mother’s maiden name
Now, admittedly, anyone wanting to steal your identity could dig this information up and put it to nefarious means. So to that extent, I see that BMO’s approach for more information is necessary.
Their additional questions:
- What investments do you have? (I have none with BMO, so this question is invalid)
- What are your monthly mortgage payments?
- What were the last three transactions in your account — including the name of the institution and the dollar amount?
I need to get at least two of those right in order to be validated as me. Problem: I DON’T HAVE ACCESS TO MY FUCKING ACCOUNT! So how the hell am I supposed to know?
No, I don’t memorise every bloody number that goes in and out of my account. That’s what monthly statements are for. Or, better yet, the online banking website that I don’t have access to! I don’t want to know what my monthly mortgage payments are — I just want to know that they’re being paid, and that my mortgage is being paid down.
This is the digital age, folks. People actively try not to know numbers. I can’t count the number of people I know who don’t know their own phone numbers, let alone their last three transactions. Besides, as you already know (because you asked) — I’m married, so I don’t know the last three transactions because I might not have made them!
This is an open letter to BMO: Find a process that does not require someone to have up-to-the-moment financial history. It’s not feasible, and it’s (obviously) too difficult for some of us poor schmucks who are more worried about forgetting their wife’s birthday.
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So I’m interested in the end result? Or did you hang up?
Augh… in all my anger, I forgot to mention the rest.
I now need to physically walk to a BMO branch (one that doesn’t close at 5pm — not easy to come by, I’ll add!) and have them personally identify me as me, so I can get access to my account again.
So I just went to the BMO nearest to my office. One I was assured would be open. Got there at 5:30. The sign on the door read:
Closed 5 to 6. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Argh.
Okay, just got back from another BMO branch, having chatted with Jason — the same wonderfully helpful person who helped us buy our house. He alluded to the fact that the Bank of Montreal has had a lot of fraud problems lately, so this is their response.
To treat customers like thieves, and force them into the branches. (It happened to Jason, as well, for the record.)
Anyway, got my account unlocked, but was chewed out (!) by the clerk on the phone as I’d given Jason my pin so he could access my account. HE WORKS FOR THE FREAKING BANK, YOU MORON.
I hate stupid people.
When I was in Calgary last week I read in the paper where BMO was opening on Sundays in Calgary - that is more than it does down here!!
I hear they are shortening their name to BM. Sorry for the potty humour, I couldn’t resist.
Certainly hope you’ve changed your PIN now!
You should be doing business with the Royal Bank of Scotland (AKA Citizen’s Bank here in the States…… our local branch ATM’s first screen is in Spanish….. EXCUSE ME…. this is English country or used to be. Did I happen to mention that the lane approaching the ATM has had a “CLOSED” amber light glowing for the last 3 months???? ATM works fine. Today was a new experience….. received a check from a large health care provider drawn on JP Morgan Chase….. went to a branch of that bank, provided endorsed check and ID and was told that they could not cash check because health care company had not signed a “cash” option. Isn’t it fun in the 21st century???!!***…… am glad to see that you young people are frustrated as well as we seniors!!
RBS has a branch in the USA? Weird… never thought that would extend out of, y’know, SCOTLAND.
Is there money in the ATM on the closed lane? Just wondering if they decided that maybe the cost of running the ATM wasn’t worth having it, and shut it down as a test. If there’s money still in the thing, though, really begins to make you wonder…
I’m also wondering what a “cash option” is. You received a cheque — something used to represent cash — to take to a bank, and they can’t turn it into cash? There are some really bizarre arcane rules in banks that just make me wonder sometimes.
[...] in my personal sphere. At the time, I passed them off as mere inconveniences — although I ranted quite loudly (warning, objectionable language) on one of them. But it was only when I stopped and took a step [...]