'They can't afford a shredder': Man tells of finding ANZ customers' personal information dumped in rubbish skip
The man who discovered confidential personal information from ANZ bank customers in a Perth rubbish skip said they should feel "outraged" by the privacy breach.
Scott Collins, 26, told Today this morning how he found the documents in Armadale, in the city's south-east.
"I was just coming from work and I was walking down the road and I managed to find these documents floating down the street," he said.
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Scott Collins discovered confidential documents about ANZ bank customers in a Perth rubbish skip. Nine
The documents included bank statements, personal details, emails, transaction histories and account numbers.
Collins is not an ANZ customer but said anyone who banks with the organisation should feel disgusted with the discovery of the discarded documents.
"Worried wouldn't even be it. I would be outraged. It is simply not on.
"These banks make so many billions of dollars in profit and they can't afford a shredder."
"Anyone could have found this. It is ridiculous."
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Scott Collins, 26, was passing by Armadale Shopping Centre when he spotted the confidential documents. Nine
The documents were thrown out in a clean-up after the local ANZ branch closed its doors.
Collins said the closure had left local residents and businesses devastated.
"The closest branch is now 20 minutes away whereas before you could do your banking next door.
"They are doing this all across Australia and it is just shameful for the vulnerable, the elderly."
Legal experts warned the bank could be hit with a multimillion-dollar fine.
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The information on paperwork piled in the skip includes names, addresses, transaction histories and account numbers. Nine
"It's terrifying what could happen, they've obviously learnt nothing form Optus and Medibank, they just don't care about customers' privacy."
The bins are filled with debris from the recently shut down ANZ branch on Jull Street.
9News found private customer documents containing details like including names, email addresses, phone numbers, and even mortgage loan rates.
The bank usually has strict processing in place for discarding private information including locked bins and shredding services.
But for some reason this wasn't done with this paperwork.
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The ANZ documents were found in Armadale, in the city's south-east, and included bank statements, personal details, emails transaction histories and account numbers. Nine
ANZ said it is "sorry this has occurred and is urgently investigating what happened". Nine
ANZ said it was "sorry this has occurred and is urgently investigating what happened".
Lawyers say it's a serious data breach.
Digital law expert Natasha Blycha warned thieves could create somebody's identity with enough information.
"The other thing they then need to do is they need to tell the customers themselves - and you can imagine with paper documents themselves that's not going to be easy," Blycha said.
Less than three hours after 9News obtained the documents, ANZ sent a rapid response team to the Perth city studio to get them.
The Australian bank could now face civil and criminal penalties plus fines of up to $50 million.
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