‘Appalling’: Australian sex worker Samantha X reveals huge banking blow

When high-profile Australian escort Samantha X logged into her bank account yesterday, she was left “furious” by what she discovered.

A “furious” Samantha X has hit out at banking firm ING, claiming the company shut down her accounts with no explanation.

The high-profile escort took to Twitter on Thursday to reveal she had logged into her accounts to do some internet banking when she discovered they had been abruptly closed.

She said she had “never been overdrawn” and had held her accounts for “years” with no incident, blasting the move as “appalling”.

So I was about to do some online banking when I discovered @ING_Aust had suddenly closed my bank accs. I’ve never been overdrawn, had accounts for yrs. No warning except “we sent you an email..” & no explanation except it was a “business decision.” Appalling.

— Samantha X® (@SamanthaX_real) May 19, 2022

Samantha X told news.com.au she had called ING “straight away”, initially fearing she had been scammed or that the bank had concerns about a recent transaction – but was left shocked by the company’s response.

“They told me they had closed my account, and when I asked what they meant, they said ‘we can’t tell you why sorry, it is a business decision’,” she said.

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Samantha X blasted ING’s decision as “appalling”.

“I didn’t have thousands and thousands and thousands in there, but it was my everyday account with all my direct debits and everything coming into that account.”

She said the bank claimed to have emailed her about the account closures earlier this month, which she said she never received.

“I was furious, I was really upset, number one to have not been given an explanation at all, and because they just did it with no notification – had I not checked, I’d still be none the wiser,” she said.

“My direct debits will now be bouncing back and it’s a massive pain.”

Luckily, Samantha X had recently opened an account with another bank, and the money from her ING accounts were being transferred.

But she said she was disappointed by ING’s handling of the issue.

“I feel like I’ve been ghosted and gaslighted by my own bank for no reason,” she said.

ING would not provide an explanation for the move. Picture: AAP Image/Paul Miller

“This is the first time anything like this has happened to me. I chose ING because the Barefoot Investor said years ago it was the best bank with no transaction fees or anything like that.

“But the fact that they can do this without notification is just a massive pain – it’s really appalling and unprofessional.”

‘Discrimination’ fears

Samantha X said the bank’s lack of transparency, and the fact that she’d always been a good customer, led her to fear she was being discriminated against based on her sex work.

“They just said it was a business decision, but what was that business decision based on, and why can't they talk about it?” she said.

“I’ve never heard of anything like this before and neither has a friend that works in finance. The only thing I can think of is discrimination against my profession, but I say if my money is good enough for the tax man, it should be good enough for ING.

“I am up to date with all my tax, it’s a legal profession, and I also earn money from elsewhere – I’m a writer, a journalist and a best-selling author, not that I have to justify it.

“If it is discrimination, ING needs to wake up to the fact it’s 2022.”

She said she was disappointed by the “lack of communication and explanation”.

Samantha X had no warning her accounts were closed.

Samantha X is also a best-selling writer. Picture: Toby Zerna

“I’ve been a customer for many years, I don’t have a credit card and I’m not in debt, I have never been overdrawn – I’m a good customer, so why did this happen if I’m not being discriminated against?” she said.

“And if that’s the case, at least have the balls to say it – don’t just say ‘sorry we can’t discuss the case’ like I’m some sort of money launderer or something.”

An ING spokeswoman declined to discuss which circumstances could prompt the bank to close a customer’s account when contacted for comment by news.com.au.

In the case of Samantha X specifically, the spokeswoman said: “Due to customer confidentiality we are unable to discuss.”