‘Had to wait’: TikToker’s horror ING ordeal

A Melbourne woman said she was left unable to access her money for more than two days after an innocent transfer was deemed “suspicious”.

A Melbourne woman was left without money for two days after ING suspended her account for what they deemed to be “suspicious activity”.

In an ordeal that has left her switching banks, Katie McMaster posted to TikTok after being left without access to her card and unable to withdraw money due to a flag on her account.

She said she was initially sent an email on Tuesday, telling her that her accounts had been suspended and she needed to verify her identity.

Ms McMaster called ING to verify the email was legit, where she was told she would need to wait up to two days for the fraud team to get back to her.

“They said I need to wait for the fraud team to contact me. I can’t speak to them, they wouldn’t transfer me to them, I had to wait for them to email me,” she said in the video.

After two days – and calling ING multiple times – Ms McMaster finally had her accounts unsuspended.

She said the fraud team told her there was just “one person” managing the fraud inbox.

Speaking to news.com.au, Ms McMaster said the “suspicious activity” turned out to be a transfer with her friend for payment of a Usher ticket.

“I don’t know if my TikTok helped, but suddenly, they moved pretty quickly,” she said.

Ms McMaster said the verification process as a whole did not feel secure.

“They’re sending you emails but then when you ring them and you’re on hold, they say ING will never ask you to provide verification via email,” she said.

She also said she did not have the option to go into a branch, as there are none in Melbourne.

“It was frustrating just waiting, I probably wouldn’t have minded so much if they kept me in the loop,” she said.

Ms McMaster said she will be diversifying her banking in the future. Picture: TikTok

The suspension on her account was removed two days later. Picture: TikTok

Ms McMaster said she is now moving banks after being with ING for more than a decade due to the ordeal, with many users on TikTok commenting about similar experiences.

A spokeswoman for ING said the bank does place temporary “holds” on an account if the bank detects “suspicious transactions”.

“This often involves temporarily placing a hold on a customer’s account until we can confirm the transactions with the customer,” she said.

“We recognise that temporarily pausing activity on an account can impact customers, so we always check they have access to essential funds, ensuring they are not placed in financial hardship.”