Kidnapped - Freeze your Bank Account

[martincymru]

Scenario.

Kidnapped.
Passwords etc. extorted from you.
Bank account raided.

Do the Police, say, as a matter of policy automatically contact your Bank to freeze the account? Of course it may be too late by then but that's another question.

Bit tongue in cheek, but it is a serious question.

[sundaymorningstaple]

How are the Police going to know which bank and what are the account numbers. (Unless of course, they are Malaysian Police doing the kidnapping again).

[PNGMK]

If you're thinking of the PI the experience of my friends there is that it is usually the police taking you to the ATM at gun point to withdraw up to your daily limit every day until the account is bled dry.

[martincymru]

Guys, my question was:

If you leave a trusted friend/family with your bank account number do they, in conjunction with local Police (say for example Singapore), have authority to instruct the bank to immediately freeze the account?

Sorry if my posting was not clear. It's really determining who has authority in your "absence". Time would obviously be of the essence to stop the electronic transfer of funds.

[sundaymorningstaple]

I would think that they would need a PoA to effect something like that, but as I'm not either in the banking industry or legal profession, I'll let somebody else confirm or not.

[nakatago]

May I suggest getting some bodyguards?

[x9200]

Guys, my question was:

If you leave a trusted friend/family with your bank account number do they, in conjunction with local Police (say for example Singapore), have authority to instruct the bank to immediately freeze the account?

Sorry if my posting was not clear. It's really determining who has authority in your "absence". Time would obviously be of the essence to stop the electronic transfer of funds.

IMHO typically only the account owner and the bank have the authority, unless the mentioned PoA is in place. It's a bit tricky situation. You can imagine you left the country (for any reason) and your friend who all the sudden is not a trusted friend any longer goes to the bank and says, hey, lock his account. And now you are in a deep *beep* if you relied on this money and the bank could be in a deep *beep* after you came back if there was not a good justification for this sort of action. If the police informs the bank you were kidnapped and likely someone not authorised would be accessing your account, that I think is a good justification, but not words of some individual unknown to the bank.

[martincymru]

x9200 & others

Surely a sensible approach is:
Someone on your behalf, immediately upon realising you are kidnapped, request through various channels (Police etc.) that the Bank in question must "freeze" the account. This means no money outflow.

In addition, the Bank have already been informed in advance of the kidnap by the account holder ( victim ) that in the event said "trusted" person and the Police make formal request to freeze, the Bank is to freeze.

Ok guys, what's the alternative to the above approach?

How to prevent, in this electronic age, the kidnappers taking all your money, very soon after capture?

Perhaps this has happened already to someone, love to hear any evidence for such.

[x9200]

The only alternative is the mentioned PoA or its de facto implementation at the bank's ground. I don't know how it is with the local banks but back home I am authorized to access/manage a bank account of my mother. It doesn't need to be a relative, all what is needed is to go to the bank in person with this somebody who should be authorised and follow the bank's procedures. Later, this person can act as myself within the borders defined during the mentioned visit (in some sort of authorization form).

If anything like in your scenario happens I can, for example, connect and change the password.
Actually, if you are mostly concerned about the internet banking access it should be good enough to know the user name. You fail to authenticate 3 times and the account is locked.

[ecureilx]

May I suggest getting some bodyguards?

Are you kidding ?

Unless you are powerful enough to keep the bodyguards under serious control (read: threat of repercussions ..) it's bodyguards who effect quite a few of the kidnapping, in PI

One Singaporean I knew was taken out by his own BG, when the boss refused to get blackmailed. .. true story.

[JR8]

I agree with the suggestion for a legally binding PoA that is accepted by the bank. Otherwise I can't see how anyone apart from you has any authority to tell the bank to do anything.

But also, if you were kidnapped:
- how might you call your bank and request they block your accounts?
- and with the likes of SMS'd 1-time secondary passwords, and/or encryption keys, I'm not sure how a kidnapper would surmount all of this. For example my bank account has 2-layer secure login. Another account similar, but the 2nd layer also requires a 1-time SMS'd password. My brokerage account is... er, like getting into Fort Knox, 2-layer plus encryption key.

Good luck to anyone who kidnapped me, I find accessing my own account something of a challenge maybe 25% of the time, even with all the info at hand And no way could I simply tell anyone all the info needed to get into any of my various accounts unless they were with me at my desk and had a gun to my head. And even then.... hehe... good luck to 'em.

Depending on what a/c you have, maybe limit balances held there, reduce daily withdrawal limits without written or in-person instruction being given. And so on...

[ecureilx]

I agree with the suggestion for a legally binding PoA that is accepted by the bank. Otherwise I can't see how anyone apart from you has any authority to tell the bank to do anything.

Funny thing is ... if no money, your chances of getting out alive vanishes instantly ....

Not many kidnapping where ransom was paid, have a happy ending and those that cost 'resources' for kidnappers and turned out to be a wasted effort, the victims never got out alive.

Rather pay something and hope to be released.

PS, in a recent case, the victim was released upon payment of 'hosting costs' (as ransom is referred to sometimes) and then it turned out the negotiator was trying to blackmail the victim for protection money.... for a 13 year term. .. no kidding ..

When you are in some countries where it's a Dog eat Dog world.... incredible stuff happens...

Minimise exposure and limit your friends and fly low .. for survival.