Standard Bank Froze My Account. Now They Eating My Money In Peace.

So on the 10th of May 2024,my Standard Bank Account was Frozen on suspicion of *****. For the story to make sense lets go back a bit,before the account was frozen. I lost my phone around February 2024 and so around March to April i found out that time someone had accessed my Standard Bank app, successfully logged in and tried to withdraw funds from my account but when that failed then they went ahead with a new plan,to apply for a credit card in my names from Standard Bank and other banks, using falsified documents.

When i found out about this i immediately called Standard Bank to report this and have them atleast freeze my bank account, but i was thrown from pillar to post till the line cut.I called more than 5 times till an agent picked up and promised to have this matter sorted out, they promised to block the app access and my profile so that whoever who has an unauthorized access to my Account gets logged out.. Unfortunately they never did that. When i got another phone, i was able to access my app with no issues whatsoever. I never got any communication to indicate that my internet banking was blocked nor that my banking cards were blocked.

Then 3 months later, around 10 May 2024 i found out that Standard Bank has blocked my Bank Account because its suspected to have participated in a *****ulent activity. I never got an email to alert me of this. When i went to the Standard Bank branch i was told that the Standard Bank ***** department called me and that i should check my call log, and indeed i found out that they called me only once a day before the account was blocked. Only called once during the time i was at work, around 10 AM. When they didnt find me after that one call, then they decided to Freeze my account still with money in it, wow what a special way to treat your customer isn't?

Now here where it gets real juicy. Remember i mentioned the fact that i lost my phone and it was accessed by someone to try to ***** money from my account and that i called Standard Bank to help me resolve this but they never assisted, they never blocked the app or froze my internet banking to prevent the perpetrator? Yeah they didn't but they moved really quick when "Suspected Me" of me being involved in a *****, despite the fact that i actually called them to report the incidence almost 2 months before. So when i report the case against ********s trying to get protection from a bank i trusted, i am ignored, but quickly when its convenient them i'm the one who treated like a ********. How is that just or fair?

Interestingly at the Standard Bank the agent who was assisting me mentioned that she also does know why the bank has been frozen, her system doesn't show the full exact reason why it was frozen but she suspects that it might be about me having received over R50,000 into my account like 7 months ago before the account was frozen.She then asked me what i do for a living, not to help but out of curiosity citing that i look young to be earning this much. Well i guess problem is that i'm young and BLACK so im the first suspect because if i was Young and White, it would be considered "Appropriate" as per our current societal expectations.

Because she didn't know why my bank account was frozen she then advised me to call the ***** department on their phone or wait for the investigator handling my case to get back to me in 7 days. She really said "7 days",Lol, now its 7 Months gone by just like that with my monies frozen in an account on a reason that Standard Bank employees don't know of.

Funny enough i couldnt even call those numbers this supposed investigator called me on as they are not "Callable", like you literally cannot call those numbers back, only they can call you. So after i left the branch that day i had to call another number which is publicly listed as Standard Bank ***** Number but guess what?I was told they dont deal with cases like mine so they transferred me 4 times to another number that deals with them and then that number was confirmed to be ***** department but here is a glitch, the agent on that number said that she cannot help so i have to wait for the investigator to contact me in order to resolve this.One thing she did mention is that the account may have been frozen because someone app**** for a loan or credit card from both Standard Bank and another bank. Well now,thats something. I told her the same thing i told the agent at the branch that my phone was ****** and someone may have accessed the app during those times but i did report the matter but it was never handled in a professional way. Well she said, "Sorry there is nothing i can do to help you, its out of my hand".

To this day the investigator has yet to call me or send me an email or anything. Its all quite, so it just makes me wonder: "Who stole my details and app**** for the loan or credit card that caused my account to be frozen? Is it the so called Investigator, is it Standard Bank itself. Do they have some sort of an agenda against their clients. Do they have a legion of ******* staff that go through endless data of client's personal information to do illicit activities? Are we trusting our monies with ********s?"

Between 2023 and 2024, shortly after my account was frozen, Standard Bank was in media for similar cases as myself.. People's accounts being debited *****ulently and Standard Bank turning a blind eye.. Freezing Funds of Independent Media, one of the biggest media company in South Africa, who sadly struggled to pay its employees. Looking at this i just wonder if i did a mistake opening an account with them.

Funny thing is that each month-end for the last 7 months, they charge me the R4.99 monthly fee from my bank account which goes through perfectly, they don't miss a date.

I have made peace with the fact that i may never get back my monies. I really don't want to bank with them anymore. I have asked the agents to close the bank account and keep the money but they keep giving me false hope and refusing to do so. What a sad journey with Standard Bank.

To conclude i just wanna say that i am disappointed with this treatment but then again what can we expect. Who has ever left their monies on another man's house and expect to find it there as they left it? We trust banks too much, with our lives even. To think of those whose accounts may have been frozen while they are going through health troubles, what about those who had to be denied health services because when they had no access to their accounts. We trust banks too much, its now even ******* to save your money at home, your own funds. What an interesting world we live in.

So for sure this post is gonna be part of millions of posts that Standard Bank is gonna read and laugh at as their executives sip on an expensive bottle of champagne, as they ignore the devastating consequences we go through due to their ignorance. So i write this so that you, who may be facing what i went through, know that it will be alright in time as you sort your live out. It might be time to start putting our monies under our mattresses.

Have a lovely Day (If you have read from beginning to here pardon any misspellings or train written sentences.Thank you