Chase Bank glitch releases thousands in cash over Labor Day weekend
forbes.com> It underscores the need for a multifaceted approach involving financial institutions, technology companies, law enforcement agencies, and policymakers to develop comprehensive strategies for preventing, detecting, and responding to such incidents. A balance between technological innovation and security will be crucial in maintaining the integrity of our financial systems and the trust of the public they serve.
This "article" is just a few Tiktok/Reels with the most mindless GPT essay I've read in months.
Heh, sheesh, the prompt must've been "Give me a TED talk about an ATM glitch". Looked up the author, hah, he's got a Wikipedia page listing his blandly unremarkable career, and looking at the edit history, it looks like he was the one who created it...
This is the dumbest thing I've seen in a long time.
Yes, let's commit fraud on the bank using our own ATM cards and bank accounts, at physical ATMs with video cameras recording ourselves doing it.
"Check fraud" isn't exactly a "glitch". This "works" because of a concession made to the customer to allow them to access funds before they're verified, because checks can take weeks to clear.
It's exactly why those "I'll send you a check for $10k, deposit and withdraw it, then send me half back and you keep the other half" scams work. By the time the bank comes back and says "This $10k check was bad, give us back the $10k you withdrew", you're out the $5k you mailed off. Except in this case, the only person you're scamming is yourself, so it's an extra potent form of stupid.
> The glitch and its aftermath represent a fascinating case study in the intersection of technology and human behavior.
The bank was asleep at the switch. There's absolutely nothing "fascinating" or worthy of study here, unless you're writing a love letter to the bank, hoping to help them avoid any responsibility for their own failures.
Are they really asleep at the switch? A little bit, I guess. An afterhours deposit probably shouldn't count as day 1 on a standard hold.
But deposits don't clear instantly, and banks routinely allow customers to access deposits or parts of deposits before they clear. Kiting checks is likely to result in serious consequences, and KYC means the bank has strong identification of their customers.
There's a good chance of criminal prosecution and an even higher chance of getting kicked out of banking. A negative chexsystems report makes it really hard to engage with the banking system, which makes life a whole lot more expensive.
But --- how much cash are people even getting out of this? Since the bank holiday is noted, I assume just ATM limits, which are usually around or under $1000/day (although I see an article that says $3000/day from chase operated ATMs).
That's enough to get in serious trouble, but not enough to start a new life. Doesn't seem worth it.
Most banks are set to 'fail open' during maintenance as well. If their systems are offline, you may be able to make repeated withdrawals from ATMs to go beyond your daily limit, and beyond your balance. This isn't being asleep at the wheel either; it's prioritizing availability over accuracy. In a high trust society, most account holders won't intentionally seek this out, and the few exceptions can expect major consequences.
Most people don't know anything about how the banking system works. Anything beyond "you put your money in it, and you can take your money out with an ATM" is lost on most people. Checks are even more nebulous - it's an IOU that might be valid, or might not be. I still don't know why "post-dated" checks exist, or why my scribble on the back of a check suddenly makes it transferable.
Over 20 years ago, I bought and sold many items through online forums, and checks were common forms of payment. The prevailing advice was to wait a week or so after deposit for the check to "clear", meaning it was valid. Most young people have never used checks and have never been given this advice.
> and an even higher chance of getting kicked out of banking
So you can never have them as a customer again for life. This is a fine strategy as long as the very small number of people who end up here do so intentionally and after much effort. Thus proving that they will always be more trouble than they're worth.
If it's a penalty for making a single mistake that you were enabled to make then this is not going to end anywhere good for any involved party.
> In a high trust society
This gets bandied about so often it's nearly meaningless now; however, on a basic level, I do not trust my bank. I'm guessing most of their current customers don't either. So they reap what they sow.
> This isn't being asleep at the wheel either; it's prioritizing availability over accuracy
Which made since in the 1970s. We're a bit past that now, and for a multi billion dollar institution to blithely allow this happen today is absurd.
Suppose Chase's system has a momentary outage. Which headline would you rather see?
1: Three idiots on tiktok steal petty cash from the ATM and go to prison
2: Millions of Chase customers' lives grind to a halt as they can't withdraw cash to buy groceries
Or are you arguing for option 3: Software is perfect and we just simply never have any outages, ever.
You have entirely detached yourself from the details of the story. These people deposited fake checks. Then withdrew against the fake balance. Stopping this outright is not going to stop people from buying groceries with real balance.
From the screenshots in the article, it looks like people are then transferring the money using online services. There are no limits I know of to how much you can spend on Venmo etc per day, so it could be life changing amounts.
Fair enough. But if you're going to send money you don't have through Venmo, do you need to deposit a fake check first?
I've not used Venmo, but Paypal doesn't know how much I have in my checking account, so why should Venmo?
Because it connects to your checking account to send the money.
TikTok - let's teach you how to commit plain old check fraud and call it a "glitch" for clicks.
Bank error in your favor. Collect $x.
No such thing. The law always takes the interpretation that you are responsible for the funds in your account. Don't get me wrong, I'm no fan of Chase (they stole some $900 from me about 3 years ago and I'll never do business again with them) but there's only one direction this goes, and could likely result in felonies.
It's called financial fraud and it can result in jail time.
Funny how it never had a "bank claws back error" card to match
By his last sentence this writer endorsed the criminal behavior the article spoke about. Simply appalling. By endorsing it he signals his lack of concern for those lowest on the socioeconomic rung who have struggled their whole lives merely to feed themselves and ATTEMPT to keep up with a greed driven world. Such a "windfall" as an extra 10k, 20k, or 30k would for MANY effectively free them from the struggle they have been unable to escape for the duration of their time on this planet, provided the money isn't frivolously wasted of course. In the face of such a release from financial freedom it,s no wonder so many choose to risk the possible legal consequences. And why write as though its an issue if clearly you dgaf but cheer them on as though its two rival teams in competition with each other and you're rooting for the underdog? Well congratulations, you side with anarchy, theft, immorality, and no clear path towards making this situation better for the more ill equipped team. The article said nothing more than, "Gotta get it together better banks!" Bravo.
I don't see many people paying rent or debt with their gains from their exploits. But I have seen a ton of shoe, chain and iPhone purchases.
I once deposited $100.00 cash at the bank on Friday to cover the last part of a check I had just written (in the 1990s) and when I later got an ATM balance receipt to check the whole amount was there, my account was over $10,000.00! Someone missed a decimal point.
Checked again Sunday and it was still there. Not surprisingly Monday afternoon I was poor again. I kept the receipt and intended to frame it, but frames were kind of expensive. I certainly haven't had 10k in the bank since.
well shit, I deposited a check today, and now I am worried I will get swept up in this bullshit and have to fight to get it cleared. sigh it's always something.