Have you had unauthorized accounts opened in your name by bank employees at HSBC Bank or another financial institution? Were you otherwise signed up for services without your permission? This may lead to being charged fees for services or accounts for which you did not consent. The tactic of opening unauthorized accounts is one reportedly wielded by bank employees desperate to meet high sales goals and qualify for bonuses.

A number of banks are currently under investigation to see whether their employees opened unauthorized accounts, including HSBC Bank. If you were affected by such unauthorized accounts, you may be able to join this investigation.

Unauthorized Bank Accounts

Most notably, Wells Fargo was the center of a scandal after it became known that many of its employees had opened millions of unauthorized accounts on behalf of customers. Upon investigation, around 3.5 million unauthorized accounts were discovered. The Wells Fargo scandal resulted in a $142 million settlement agreement, as well as additional fines. The banking giant also agreed to adjust the sales goals set for its employees to eliminate the incentive to open these unauthorized accounts in the first place.

But it has come to light that Wells Fargo may not be the only bank with employees that have used these tactics. Other banks like HSBC Bank are now under investigation based on suspicion that their employees may have opened unauthorized accounts or signed customers up for services without permission.

In a review conducted by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) that looked into around 40 banks, up to 10,000 unauthorized accounts were found to have been opened without the permission of customers.

“The OCC did not find pervasive or systemic issues in regard to improper account opening but did find the need for banks to improve their policies, procedures and controls,” said Joseph Otting, the U.S. Comptroller of the Currency, during testimony to the Senate Banking Committee. While the OCC issued “matters requiring attention” notifications to these banks, the federal regulator does not plan to identify the institutions involved.

Unauthorized accounts found through this investigation included new mortgages, auto loans, checking and savings accounts, and credit cards.

The OCC has declined to name the banks where these accounts were found. But some Democratic members who sat on the committee have demanded that the OCC not keep its findings to itself.

“We are concerned that the decision to keep the specific findings of the review private leaves consumers exposed to past and future predatory behavior and impedes our ability as lawmakers to effectively conduct oversight over the banking industry,” wrote eight Senate Democrats in a letter to Otting.

Joining an Unauthorized Accounts Investigation

Have unauthorized accounts been opened in your name at HSBC Bank or another financial institution? You may be able to join this fake bank account class action lawsuit investigation. This investigation is specifically looking for those who have had such unauthorized accounts opened in their names by bank employees, rather than by identity thieves or another third party.