ANZ has apologised after documents containing confidential customer details were found dumped in a skip bin in suburban Perth.
The documents contained transaction information, names, addresses and account numbers, the Nine Network reported.
Perth man Scott Collins said he came across dozens of documents, some of which were blowing across the street, while walking past Armadale shopping centre in Perth’s eastern suburbs.
The documents reportedly came from a recently-closed nearby ANZ branch.
“These banks make so many billions of dollars in profit and they can’t afford a shredder,” Mr Collins told Nine’s Today program.
“Anyone could have found this. It is ridiculous.”
ANZ retail managing director Katherine Bray said the company took seriously the security of customers’ information.
Locked bins and shredding services were used to dispose of documents.
“When we close a branch we have strict processes in place to securely dispose of ANZ documents, including those that contain customer information,” she said in a statement.
“This process is closely supervised by our staff and includes a detailed inspection of the premises.
“We are sorry this has occurred and are urgently investigating to understand what has happened in this instance.”
ANZ has recovered the documents and is examining them as a priority in accordance with its legal obligations, while affected customers have been informed.
ANZ could face fines as a result of the breach.
Almost 10 million Optus customers had their personal information stolen last year, including passport, licence and Medicare details.
A similar number of current and former Medibank customers had their personal information and health records hacked by a Russian ransomware group.
– AAP
