It sounds like a scene out of a heist movie, but it happened in real life. Some JPMorgan Chase customers discovered a glitch in the bank’s ATM system that allowed them to withdraw thousands of dollars in bank funds before a check bounced.
The issue started in late August, when a TikTok video explaining how to get infinite money out of the ATM went viral. One of the most outrageous cases involves a man in Houston whose accomplice deposited a counterfeit $335,000 check at an ATM. The man then proceeded to take out $290,939.47 of stolen funds.
In the federal lawsuits that the bank filed on Monday with at least three federal courts, the bank clearly explained the issue they had ran into with this specific customer “On August 29, 2024, a masked man deposited a check in Defendant’s Chase bank account in the amount of $335,000,” the bank said in the Texas filing. “After the check was deposited, Defendant began withdrawing the vast majority of the ill-gotten funds.”
The full scope of the “infinite money glitch” has not yet been discovered, as the bank is still investigating the issue and the thousands of customers that took advantage of the system. The fraud, which would have been localized once upon a time, was now made widely available by sharing the scam on social media. The only reason why the impact was not worse is because usually only a fraction of the deposited money is available for withdrawal until it is cleared by personnel, which can take several days. Otherwise, the impact would have been greater.
Checks are not a common payment method anymore, they are still one of the primary methods of fraud, as they are still used for large purchases and money transfers. according to Nasdaq’s Global Financial Crime Report, check fraud resulted in $26.6 billion in losses globally last year.
After this experience the bank will no longer allow this loophole to exist, penalizing those who still get paid via check and live paycheck to paycheck.
JPMorgan spokesman Drew Pusateri explained in a statement to CNBC after the discovery of the glitch “Fraud is a crime that impacts everyone and undermines trust in the banking system. We’re pursuing these cases and actively cooperating with law enforcement to make sure if someone is committing fraud against Chase and its customers, they’re held accountable.”
JPMorgan Chase lawsuits filed
The bank has taken swift action and has filed civil and criminal lawsuits depending on the state, the case, and the amount. They have also referred a number of cases to police departments for further investigation.
Some of the criminal cases filed are in courts including Miami and the Central District of California, where defendants owe the bank sums ranging from about $80,000 to $141,000.
Most cases were not as big, and the bank is choosing to handle as many of them as possible privately, using their security team. Employees of the bank are reaching out to customers reminding them that they are in violation of the deposit agreement that customers sign when creating an account with the bank and that they should return the stolen funds with interest and overdraft fees, as well as lawyers’ fees and, in some cases, punitive damages.
When those methods do not work, the cases are then filed with the appropriate court depending on the amount of money stolen.
While the bank is certainly prioritizing the cases where the most money was stolen, the plan is to prosecute all cases where the money is not returned to the satisfaction of the bank’s authorities. The aim is to force customers to repay their debts and signal broadly that the bank won’t tolerate fraud.
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