How can a bank account be frozen? The Financial Supervisory Commission has listed 14 suspicious account types, and significant cases can be reported.

The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) announced an upcoming amendment to the law, expanding the criteria for identifying suspicious accounts to 14 scenarios, including indicators such as frequent account openings and abnormal virtual account activities. Banks can directly report major illegal activities to the Prosecutor General’s Office, with violators facing fines of up to NT$50 million.

FSC Announces Amendments to Banking Law, Listing 14 Scenarios for Suspicious Accounts

On February 3, the Banking Bureau of the FSC announced that it will revise the “Deposit Account and Suspected Illegal or Abnormal Transaction Management Measures,” mainly targeting “Type 2 accounts” that have not yet been confirmed as illegal but exhibit abnormal characteristics.

Currently, suspected illegal accounts are divided into two categories. The first category, such as warning accounts, is under strict control. This time, the amendment will significantly expand the scenarios for identifying suspicious Type 2 accounts from the original categories to 14, with the earliest implementation expected around mid-April.

The new regulations will strengthen connections with law enforcement agencies. If banks determine that an account exhibits major or urgent illegal activities, they can directly report to the Prosecutor General’s Office for coordinated case handling and early intervention. If banks fail to report as required, the FSC can impose a fine of up to NT$50 million for violations of internal control regulations.

FSC Focuses on Personal Accounts and Virtual Accounts, Adds Multiple Early Warning Indicators

According to the comparison table of the draft amendments published by the FSC Banking Bureau, Article 4 states that to provide early warning for suspicious accounts and referencing law enforcement experience, the scope for identifying Type 2 accounts will be expanded:

• Frequent application to open deposit accounts within a short period or setting up designated accounts without reasonable explanation.
• Non-citizens, where banks are aware of relevant documentation, such as residence permits being canceled or expired, or reports from banks indicating unknown circumstances.
• Account holders who have registered mobile phone numbers that are the same as those of warning accounts within the same bank.
• Virtual accounts linked to deposit accounts that are reported as warning accounts multiple times within a certain period.
• Customers who have been reported as missing persons.
• Domestic financial accounts suspected of involvement in fraud, as listed by judicial police authorities.

Additionally, Article 5 of the amendments aligns with the Prosecutor General’s Office’s “Suspicious Account Early Warning Center System,” authorizing banks to immediately report information to the Prosecutor General’s Office in major or urgent cases, without being limited to traditional judicial police channels, thereby enhancing the timeliness of crime prevention.

For detailed explanations of the second category, see the following screenshots:

Balancing Anti-Fraud Measures and Convenience, Scholars Urge Banks to Exercise Caution

As anti-fraud efforts intensify, concerns about overly aggressive risk control measures by banks have arisen.

Looking back to September 2025, Taishin Bank’s strict risk controls led to many customers’ accounts being locked without warning, requiring users to personally visit branches to explain the source of each small transaction, which caused considerable public dissatisfaction.

At that time, the FSC emphasized that banks should strike a balance between risk management and convenient service. Unless mandated by law enforcement or unable to contact the account holder, banks should notify the customer before freezing accounts to avoid “one-size-fits-all” measures that harm innocent customers’ rights.

• Related report:** All for Anti-Fraud! Taishin Bank’s Account Locking Incidents Draw Criticism, FSC Responds**

Regarding the expanded scenarios for suspicious accounts in the upcoming amendments, Professor Yin Naiping, a part-time professor at National Chengchi University’s Department of Finance, told PTS News Network that banks need to fulfill anti-fraud requirements from regulators while minimizing unnecessary interference with ordinary depositors. How to balance these two aspects will be a major challenge for banks in future implementation.