The ANZ bank yesterday opened an internal investigation into allegations that staff in Melbourne created a fake Facebook profile to gather information on customers with bad credit who have changed address without informing the bank.

The allegations involve unsecured-debt collections staff using Facebook as a tool to entice customers into providing details about themselves and their locations. Customers who have befriended the fake persona, Max Bourke, online may have provided information unknowingly. His profile did not identify the bank in any way.

Last night an ANZ spokesman, Stephen Ries, confirmed a member of the unsecured debt collections team set up Max Bourke's fake Facebook profile to contact missing customers. The team worked with customers with personal loans and credit cards.

"This type of rogue activity is neither approved or sanctioned by ANZ and it is completely unacceptable," he said in a statement. "Disciplinary action will be taken where any staff member is found to have breached ANZ's code of conduct and our policy on the use of technology.

"We are taking this matter incredibly seriously and we'll take appropriate disciplinary action when the internal investigation is concluded."

Sources said a "large number" of ANZ customers were added as friends to the fake profile. The customers could have accepted Facebook friendship with Bourke without knowing him.

The fake Max Bourke profile was removed from Facebook yesterday.

The internal Facebook investigation comes as police investigate allegations of a drug trafficking network operating from an ANZ office in Melbourne. While the drug claims also allegedly involved debt collections staff, Mr Ries said the fake Facebook incident was ''completely separate and involves different people''.

The staff accused of having bought or sold drugs have already left the bank and worked with mortgage collections in their former roles, while the employee who allegedly created the Max Bourke page worked with unsecured collections.

(From http://tinyurl.com/2btjons )