Meezan Bank dismisses ‘data breach’ after reports of unauthorised transactions

Meezan Bank denied a “data breach” on Thursday after reports of many customers who faced unauthorised transactions from their debit and credit cards circulated on social media.

Over the past week, many social media users reported incidents of unauthorised transactions from their bank accounts. They said large sums of money were transferred from their debit cards without their knowledge. Some claimed that an alleged data leak occurred.

In a customer advisory issued today, the bank said that “the rumours regarding a data breach at Meezan Bank are entirely false.”

It assured its customers that their data was “completely safe with us”, reiterating that “there has been no security breach whatsoever”.

The bank added that it was taking all necessary measures to make sure that affected customers were compensated as soon as possible.

“All disputed transactions reported to the bank recently were unsecured e-commerce transactions. These transactions are covered under the chargeback mechanism of International Payment Schemes and are being fully reimbursed to the affected customers.”

It also advised customers to take precautions when using cards online.

Malik Zaka, a resident of Islamabad, reported an incident a day ago on the Facebook group “Voice of Customer”, stating that multiple unauthorised transactions occurred on his Meezan Bank debit card amounting to Rs2.1 million, calling the incident “extremely alarming”.

While speaking to Dawn.com, Zaka said a total of seven transactions were made on Facebook in the Malaysian currency which was then converted to PKR.

“These were cards that I have never used for internet banking,” adding that he reported the incident to the bank which subsequently blocked the cards citing fraudulent activity.

“I have never used the cards on the internet or even at the ATM, how could this happen?” he said.

He also said that the amount was compensated within three hours but he found the incident “suspicious”, claiming it could be a “data breach” considering that multiple people were reporting the same incident.

A post by the Facebook group’s admin also said it was receiving many complaints of unauthorised card usage.

Another customer from Lahore, who requested to remain anonymous, told Dawn.com that transactions amounting to Rs1.4 million occurred from his card, adding that the amount was later compensated.

“The transaction took place but I was never aware as I did not receive a one-time password or message.

“I told them (bank) I did not use my card then they said my card was misused,” he said, adding, “If card was used from my account, not one invoice was generated.”