Warning for foreigners using True SIM to receive sms (otp) from their banks

[fdsa]

Ask your bank support, maybe it is possible to change your account to the hardware OTP device instead of sending OTP via sms.

 

Something like this device: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSA_SecurID

[Adumbration]

23 minutes ago, fdsa said:

Ask your bank support, maybe it is possible to change your account to the hardware OTP device instead of sending OTP via sms.

 

Something like this device: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSA_SecurID

Thanks.  One bank does not have token available.  The other refused to send the token to me here.

[Chris.B]

3 hours ago, Adumbration said:

Well I am at the point of nervous breakdown now.

 

I tried the 4444151 number @Bruno123 provided to request an MNP number.  It did not work.  True sent an sms saying that I owed them money so number could not be ported.  It is a prepaid sim.

 

Despite my very poor health and mobility problems I traveled down to Phuket three days ago.  I visited the True office in person and showed them the MNP request sms on my phone I asked them how could I owe money if it was a prepaid card.  They could not provide me with a reason.  After about 40 minutes they managed to generate an MNP on their computer and wrote it down for me.  I asked them to triple check that everything was ok because I lived a long way from their office and travel was difficult for me.  The expressly stated everything was good to go and that I just need to give mnp to AIS.

 

Went to the nearby AIS office.  Dealt with the manger who was very professional.  Told her the history of my problem, that I was not receiving SMS from my banks in Australia and that I had bought a AIS sim a week or so ago and tested it while on a call with one of my banks and it received sms message perfectly.  Told here need to port old True number to AIS because it is linked to at least a dozen other banks, cards and brokerages in Thailand and other overseas countries.

 

She issued me a new sim, took a copy of my passport and got me to fill out a one page form.  She told it would take a maximum of 2 days to port.  I checked there was nothing else required and then traveled back home.  When back home at about 8pm at night I get a SMS from AIS. It was in Thai.  It said that they could not port in my True number because the code given to my by TRUE was not correct.  

 

I obtained the line contact for the manager at AIS so the next morning (yesterday) I rang her.  She was very helpful and walked over to speak with the staff I dealt with at the True office while on video chat with me.  Staff at True office said that I would have to travel back to Phuket to rectify the problem in person.  I told them that if I had to travel back to Phuket they should call the police because upon my arrival at their office I would murder them.

 

After they realised I was not joking they arranged for an SMS to be sent to my phone that contained a link.  When i clicked on the link it took me to a video chat with a True girl.  She asked me some questions and used the platform to take of photo of me and my passport.  She told me to wait 30 minutes and try again to request an MNP code using 444151 number.

 

I did that and the number arrived on my phone.  I then contacted the AIS manager on line and provided her with the code.  Apparently the sim she gave me the previous day was no good.  But she was kind enough to issue a new one and send it up to me via kerry.

 

It arrived late this afternoon.  So I now had a AIS sim but with my old True number that is linked to all my bank and other accounts that required OTP.

 

I put it in my phone and logged on to my banks in Australia and generated SMS OTP.  Nothing arrived exactly same problem.  I tested Wise and other overseas and Thai banks and SMS did arrive.  Exactly same problem.

 

I put the new sim in two other friends phones and retested.  Same problem  SMS from my Australian banks not arriving .  All other SMS arrive in split second.

 

So it is now over six weeks now and I still have not got access to my funds.   My CBA accounts are locked and I cannot use my MasterCard.

 

Given that the AIS sim I bought a week or so ago did work, I can only assumption that can be made is that even though my old (082 prefix) true number is now with AIS sms messages must still be first routed through the true system.

 

I am now in a very dire mental and physical state.  

 

If anyone can think of any workable solution to help me move forward I would be very grateful for your input.

I am sorry, this is a nightmare situation for any expat. I think many guys from the UK keep a UK sim card just for receiving OTPs.

[Chris.B]

On 10/31/2021 at 12:50 PM, Bruno123 said:

Better for him to stick with a Thai SIM card that works. if he has a problem with an Oz SIM card it will be much more difficult for him to put right.

But it doesn't work?

[Peabody]

I'm in the exact same situation as the OP, except my bank is SCB. About 2 months ago, maybe more, I stopped receiving SMS OTPs from them. I live near South America. It was working fine up until then. I asked a pal in BKK to send me an SMS & it worked. I also have a local number. I can send an SMS in both directions from my phones while overseas. I've asked to use email notification but they don't provide that. 

They also won't let me make international transfers, as I retired after working 15 years in Thailand and they claim I need a work permit to be allowed to make international transfers. I opened the damn account in 2000!

[Adumbration]

12 hours ago, Peabody said:

I'm in the exact same situation as the OP, except my bank is SCB. About 2 months ago, maybe more, I stopped receiving SMS OTPs from them. I live near South America. It was working fine up until then. I asked a pal in BKK to send me an SMS & it worked. I also have a local number. I can send an SMS in both directions from my phones while overseas. I've asked to use email notification but they don't provide that. 

They also won't let me make international transfers, as I retired after working 15 years in Thailand and they claim I need a work permit to be allowed to make international transfers. I opened the damn account in 2000!

When I moved here over 12 years ago I bought a large chunk of cash with me.  I have lived off that ever since while my assets in Australia were just ticking over on autopilot. I would just login periodically to do transaction or to top up my credit cards after making a payment.  Never had problem receiving SMS otp.  About 2 months ago I needed to add myself as a new payee which requires sms authorisation.  Message never arrived.  Exactly same number I have had all along.

 

I therefore went to use my other bank and found out, to my horror, that also not receiving their SMS.  

[Bruno123]

13 hours ago, Chris.B said:

But it doesn't work?

 

Pointless post, after the fact has been established. I posted that before he found out that it didn't work.

[JensenZ]

21 hours ago, Adumbration said:

So you opened your Citi account from Thailand.  And did not ever have to visit a branch in Australia in person?

Yes, that is correct. I haven't been to Australia since I opened it either. I don't have a "branch" that I'm aware of. They do insist on a residential address and don't allow post boxes as your primary address. I used a friends. I haven't lived in Australia for nearly 20 years.

 

[JensenZ]

19 hours ago, Adumbration said:

Thanks.  One bank does not have token available.  The other refused to send the token to me here.

I have a security token for the Suncorp Bank. They expire after about 5 years or so. I had a friend post it to me.

[JensenZ]

15 hours ago, Peabody said:

I'm in the exact same situation as the OP, except my bank is SCB. About 2 months ago, maybe more, I stopped receiving SMS OTPs from them. I live near South America. It was working fine up until then. I asked a pal in BKK to send me an SMS & it worked. I also have a local number. I can send an SMS in both directions from my phones while overseas. I've asked to use email notification but they don't provide that. 

They also won't let me make international transfers, as I retired after working 15 years in Thailand and they claim I need a work permit to be allowed to make international transfers. I opened the damn account in 2000!

The bank systems don't send SMS by phone, but over the internet, so just being able to send SMS from one phone to another is not the same. They are not using the phone network, but connecting to it by internet. That's why I believe the problem is with the Australian bank's network, not True and the reason why I recieve SMS from Citibank Australia to my True SIM and the OP can't recieve messages from his bank.

 

There could be a new security protocol by his bank too,

about sending messages to International numbers. He might need special permission. Bank's often update security measures, trying to make transactions safer and inconveniencing customers in the process.

Edited November 20, 2021 by JensenZ

[Adumbration]

16 hours ago, JensenZ said:

The bank systems don't send SMS by phone, but over the internet, so just being able to send SMS from one phone to another is not the same. They are not using the phone network, but connecting to it by internet. That's why I believe the problem is with the Australian bank's network, not True and the reason why I recieve SMS from Citibank Australia to my True SIM and the OP can't recieve messages from his bank.

 

There could be a new security protocol by his bank too,

about sending messages to International numbers. He might need special permission. Bank's often update security measures, trying to make transactions safer and inconveniencing customers in the process.

All of what you have surmised here is incorrect.  I am not receiving messages from two of my banks in Oz.  Up until about 2 months ago I received all SMS OTP's with no problem.  The phone number I have listed with both banks is my number here plus the +66 country code for Thailand.  It is the same number I have used for more than a decade and is registered in my name with Government here.

 

Bank have no issue sending SMS to my number....but they are not arriving.  When logged in to my relevant account webpages and trigger code to be sent page display SMS sent (some of destination number blanked out with xxxxx but I can see final digits and it is my number here).

[Adumbration]

16 hours ago, JensenZ said:

Yes, that is correct. I haven't been to Australia since I opened it either. I don't have a "branch" that I'm aware of. They do insist on a residential address and don't allow post boxes as your primary address. I used a friends. I haven't lived in Australia for nearly 20 years.

 

Can you please provide me with a link to open the same Citibank account that you have?

 

Can you also please confirm what SIM card and phone number you entered when you made your online application?

 

And finally, if you have not been to Australia for 20 years, how could you open a bank account in Australia if you are no longer a tax resident?

 

I am very interested in your answers here because I will open an account with Citi also.

 

Thanks

[Chris.B]

Here is a long shot. In the UK there is a mobile phone company called giffgaff who will send SIM cards to Thailand. If you installed a UK SIM card and notified your Australian banks of your new UK number it might just work?

[JensenZ]

3 hours ago, Adumbration said:

Can you please provide me with a link to open the same Citibank account that you have?

 

Can you also please confirm what SIM card and phone number you entered when you made your online application?

 

And finally, if you have not been to Australia for 20 years, how could you open a bank account in Australia if you are no longer a tax resident?

 

I am very interested in your answers here because I will open an account with Citi also.

 

Thanks

I have visited a few times in the last 20 years, but no longer a tax resident. I'm a citizen and have a right to open an Australian bank account. You just provide a tax file number. They wouldn't know if you're a tax resident or not - it's not their business, that's the business of the ATO. When you use an offshore phone number, they do eventually ask you some questions to ensure you're not a US tax resident, so I had to fill out some forms and post them to Sydney the old fashioned way, by snail mail. You need to make sure you have some way of receiving bank correspondence sent to a residential address just in case they need to send you something important. You opt out of statements sent by mail of course. Also, you'd have to have someone send you your debit/credit cards as they wouldn't post them offshore.

 

I use a True tourist sim that I've had for 9 years. I opened the account in 2015. Just visit the regular "open account" link and start filling it out. They also have free ATM withdrawals on debit cards (Australian fees - you still pay ATM fees here). If you can open a Citibank account in Thailand, you can instantly transfer money to your Thai account.

 

Being a major international bank, they not so stuck in the old fashioned Australian banking ways. Internationally they are a lot easier to deal with. I've also maintained a Citibank Philippines account for 20 years.

 

Good Luck!

Edited November 21, 2021 by JensenZ

[JensenZ]

4 hours ago, Adumbration said:

All of what you have surmised here is incorrect.  I am not receiving messages from two of my banks in Oz.  Up until about 2 months ago I received all SMS OTP's with no problem.  The phone number I have listed with both banks is my number here plus the +66 country code for Thailand.  It is the same number I have used for more than a decade and is registered in my name with Government here.

 

Bank have no issue sending SMS to my number....but they are not arriving.  When logged in to my relevant account webpages and trigger code to be sent page display SMS sent (some of destination number blanked out with xxxxx but I can see final digits and it is my number here).

How could you possibly say my theory is incorrect based on something changing 2 months ago. Things do change. Networks change. Something has changed, right, and I don't believe it's True because I still get SMS from Australia. As you say, I'm "surmising". You need to talk to an IT communications specialist for a more informed answer.

 

Seeing is believing, just in case you don't believe an anonymous member of an Internet forum (and why should you?)  

 

 

 

Edited November 21, 2021 by JensenZ

[Adumbration]

@JensenZ Thanks for your information regarding Citi.  If you are a non tax resident of Oz then Citi must take 10% witholding tax out of your bank interest. Given interest rates are at or close to zero at present that is not a concern financially however if you have paid just one dollar in witholding tax then you must lodge annual tax return with ATO.  How do you get around that requirement?

 

I do not have anyone I can rely upon back in Oz to forward a card on to me.  I did have an accountant collecting mail from my POBox back in Oz but this year he had a nervous breakdown.  I am dealing with huge raft of other problems arising from this.

 

If you are receiving SMS from Citi then they must be using a different system than that used by my two banks, Commonwealth and Greater.  I am not receiving messages from either.  

 

A few years back I did open an account with Citi in Singapore.  I did that entirely online and they sent me a token.  I opened the account because I transferred most of the money I had sitting in Thai banks out in the lead up to the military seizing power here.  All was good for a year or so and then the requested that I topped up the account to a minimum balance of $500,000 us dollars or equivalent.  I did not have the available funds and had to close the account.

 

Which Citibank account type do you have?

 

On another point the CBA has also locked my Commsec share trading account because I am overseas.  Does Citi Australia have a share trading brokerage facility?

 

Or if Citi does not have share trading, what broker platform do you use as an Aussie living abroad permanently?

 

Thanks for your kind assistance.

Edited November 22, 2021 by Adumbration

[Adumbration]

@Chris.B Thanks for suggestion but GiggGaff not workable long term solution because of roaming fees.  Same applies if I tried to obtain Sim from Oz. 

[pjmorton]

Slightly off topic, but my wife subscribed to True for our home internet plan, and frequently I can't use it to access overseas url's via my browser. Most of the time it works OK, but several times a day I hit one that fails to return anything but a "connection timed out" message. The problem disappears immediately when I tether to my cell phone, which is subscribed to AIS. Maybe this problem is related somehow to the SMS blockages mentioned by the original poster.

[JensenZ]

2 hours ago, Adumbration said:

@JensenZ Thanks for your information regarding Citi.  If you are a non tax resident of Oz then Citi must take 10% witholding tax out of your bank interest. Given interest rates are at or close to zero at present that is not a concern financially however if you have paid just one dollar in witholding tax then you must lodge annual tax return with ATO.  How do you get around that requirement?

 

I do not have anyone I can rely upon back in Oz to forward a card on to me.  I did have an accountant collecting mail from my POBox back in Oz but this year he had a nervous breakdown.  I am dealing with huge raft of other problems arising from this.

 

If you are receiving SMS from Citi then they must be using a different system than that used by my two banks, Commonwealth and Greater.  I am not receiving messages from either.  

 

A few years back I did open an account with Citi in Singapore.  I did that entirely online and they sent me a token.  I opened the account because I transferred most of the money I had sitting in Thai banks out in the lead up to the military seizing power here.  All was good for a year or so and then the requested that I topped up the account to a minimum balance of $500,000 us dollars or equivalent.  I did not have the available funds and had to close the account.

 

Which Citibank account type do you have?

 

On another point the CBA has also locked my Commsec share trading account because I am overseas.  Does Citi Australia have a share trading brokerage facility?

 

Or if Citi does not have share trading, what broker platform do you use as an Aussie living abroad permanently?

 

Thanks for your kind assistance.

You'll have to ask a tax accountant about the tax situation. I haven't lodged a tax return since the 1990's.

 

I don't share trade, but I'm sure you can easily find the information you need. I trade FX CFD, and use a broker regulated in Vanuatu, not Australia. Actually, it's an arm of an Australian brokerage that non-Australians or non-residents can use without the ASIC cloud hanging over your head. IC Markets Australia has a division based in Seychelles that non-Australians (and non-residents) use. It's very popular with Europeans.

 

Unfortunately, if you cannot get a reliable Australian residential address where you can receivei mail, it will be impossible to open an account. They do a search on your residential address, so you can't use a commercial mail service.

 

The account is called "Citibank Plus Transaction" with linked "Citibank Plus Linked Savings"

 

Edited November 22, 2021 by JensenZ

[Chris.B]

2 hours ago, Adumbration said:

@Chris.B Thanks for suggestion but GiggGaff not workable long term solution because of roaming fees.  Same applies if I tried to obtain Sim from Oz. 

You use the SIM just for receiving OTP not for phoning. In Thailand, dual SIM card mobiles are available.

[Adumbration]

41 minutes ago, Chris.B said:

You use the SIM just for receiving OTP not for phoning. In Thailand, dual SIM card mobiles are available.

I have a dual sim phone.  Do you use giffgaff.  I note that they do not have call centre.

 

[Adumbration]

1 hour ago, JensenZ said:

 

 

The account is called "Citibank Plus Transaction" with linked "Citibank Plus Linked Savings"

 

 

1 hour ago, JensenZ said:

You'll have to ask a tax accountant about the tax situation. I haven't lodged a tax return since the 1990's.

 

I don't share trade, but I'm sure you can easily find the information you need. I trade FX CFD, and use a broker regulated in Vanuatu, not Australia. Actually, it's an arm of an Australian brokerage that non-Australians or non-residents can use without the ASIC cloud hanging over your head. IC Markets Australia has a division based in Seychelles that non-Australians (and non-residents) use. It's very popular with Europeans.

 

Unfortunately, if you cannot get a reliable Australian residential address where you can receivei mail, it will be impossible to open an account. They do a search on your residential address, so you can't use a commercial mail service.

 

The account is called "Citibank Plus Transaction" with linked "Citibank Plus Linked Savings"

 

I could give them a residential address.  It would be different from any of my previous addresses so don't know if it would be accepted via online application as I would be using my Passport as ID.  Their foreign currency account has good interest rates on AUD balances 0.6%.

[Chris.B]

3 hours ago, Adumbration said:

I have a dual sim phone.  Do you use giffgaff.  I note that they do not have call centre.

 

I don't need to use giffgaff. Why do you want a call centre?

[jollyhangmon]

Gee-darn useless wonkers that lot, couldn't agree more mate!

Reading about your problems I did some tests a week ago, knowing I would need smsTANs/OTPs today, everything worked fine.

 

Then today it's rien ne va plus, nothing's coming through at all, can u believe it? How f'n annoying!

 

That's from an Austrian  bank btw, I certainly in decades never ever had even a single problem with the good paper-TANs, that much is 4 shizzle ...

 

==>> Here's the contacts for whom it may concern as well - stick it to 'em:

 

http://www.trueiservice.com/    ... use the chat, bottom right corner

 

Email:  [email protected]

 

[The Hammer2021]

Porting code? MSN code?

'port to'

This all seems really complicated and technical.

I buy a sim and put it in..er thats it..

[Chris.B]

1 hour ago, jollyhangmon said:

Gee-darn useless wonkers that lot, couldn't agree more mate!

Reading about your problems I did some tests a week ago, knowing I would need smsTANs/OTPs today, everything worked fine.

 

Then today it's rien ne va plus, nothing's coming through at all, can u believe it? How f'n annoying!

 

That's from an Austrian  bank btw, I certainly in decades never ever had even a single problem with the good paper-TANs, that much is 4 shizzle ...

 

==>> Here's the contacts for whom it may concern as well - stick it to 'em:

 

http://www.trueiservice.com/    ... use the chat, bottom right corner

 

Email:  [email protected]

 

 

It is looking like foreign SIM cards need to be used to receive foreign OTPs?

 

[jollyhangmon]

2 hours ago, Chris.B said:

 

It is looking like foreign SIM cards need to be used to receive foreign OTPs?

 

... now, that would have to be solely up to the respective bank and while I'm aware of some German 'institutes' (maybe all of them?) not accepting any foreign prefixes there's no such policy for Austrians. Plus it wouldn't happen without preliminary information.

 

No, SMS got sent by the bank as usual, as well as a couple others from other providers I used online to send myself some test messages ... no luck this time.

It's just the local oxygenwasters that fail to either receive or pass that cr@p through, that's all ... and for some folks obviously for quite some time now as this thread is about a month old.
 

[Adumbration]

2 hours ago, jollyhangmon said:

... now, that would have to be solely up to the respective bank and while I'm aware of some German 'institutes' (maybe all of them?) not accepting any foreign prefixes there's no such policy for Austrians. Plus it wouldn't happen without preliminary information.

 

No, SMS got sent by the bank as usual, as well as a couple others from other providers I used online to send myself some test messages ... no luck this time.

It's just the local oxygenwasters that fail to either receive or pass that cr@p through, that's all ... and for some folks obviously for quite some time now as this thread is about a month old.
 

I am still dealing with this problem.  Have not found a solution.  This is week 8....

[jollyhangmon]

49 minutes ago, Adumbration said:

I am still dealing with this problem.  Have not found a solution.  This is week 8....

 

Downright unbelievable man.

Another solution would be alternative use of some kind of TAN app - of course only if provided from the bank ... some do and call it 'TresorTAN' or 'SecureTAN' or similar and some simply don't.

Sure makes one independent from the clearly failing cell phone providers ... 

 

[jollyhangmon]

 

... LOL, here's True Moves customer 'cares' reply ... >it wasn't us< ... as expected ...!

Still not working btw.

 

Of course I 'contacted my bank' - duh - and they sent it ... as mentioned before, I unsuccessfully tried 3 different providers which had all worked perfectly fine before, some for a solid decade ...

 

Now forwarded to the bank to sort it out, meanwhile commencing business by handwriting orders, photographing & emailing them, jesses h christ ...

 

 

>>  Dear Khun Adolf,

True would like to thank you for choosing in our product 

Regarding the issue of receiving international sms, after the investigation of the team in charge, they suggest you contact the bank directly. Because it is personal information, The bank will coordinate the SMS Provide network of that foreign country. Check for problems and if any errors are found, the network Coordinate back to True to check. We are apologize for any inconvenience. 

If you would like to inquire for further information or other services, please feel free to contact us at True Call Center 1242 9 and 2. Our customer service representatives will always be ready to serve you. 

Sincerely yours, <<