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A viral trend on TikTok has landed participants in hot water as experts have pointed out that the “free infinite money hack” some had found was simply just check fraud.
The so-called glitch involved writing out large fake checks to oneself and depositing them digitally. An error within Chase Bank’s system would cause the check amount to appear in a user’s account immediately without the usual due diligence taking place. Users were then withdrawing huge sums of cash that they had fraudulently obtained.
The trend went viral on TikTok, with users showing off huge piles of cash and encouraging others who bank with Chase to take advantage of the free money hack.
Chase Bank was aware of the issue and it was rectified quickly. Speaking to the New York Post on Sunday (Sep 1) a spokesperson for the bank said that “consumers should be skeptical and if something seems too good to be true, it likely is.”
The spokesperson went on to add “We are aware of this incident, and it has been addressed. Regardless of what you see online, depositing a fraudulent check and withdrawing the funds from your account is fraud, plain and simple.”
What happened to people who attempted to use the “infinite money hack”?
Chase rectified the issue quickly and moved on to handle the problems caused by people attempting to unknowingly commit check fraud.
Those who participated have been hit with account holds and massive balance deductions to account for the fraudulently obtained cash.
Personal finance blogger and influencer Jim Wang of ‘bestwallethacks’ posted a video explaining the error, describing the act as “unjust enrichment”.
@bestwallethacks The Chase “infinite money glitch” is a viral video that went around showing a way to trick Chase ATMs into giving money that wasn’t yours. It involved check fraud and I won’t repeat how the “glitch” worked because it’s illegal and has been fixed. If you ever get mysterious money deposited into your account as a result of a bank error, tell the bank immediately. It’s not your money and when they figure it out, they will want it back. Do not spend it, do not move it, just leave it along and tell the bank. Just because it’s in your account doesn’t make it yours. And don’t believe everything you see on social media. #fraud #chase #scam
“So what people discovered over the last few days was that Chase was having problems with their ATMs. They were able to deposit checks and get the balances and were able to withdraw them,” Wang said.
“Chase was pretty on top of it, within a day it was all fixed and the people that were doing this were seeing big holds in their accounts or huge negative balances.”
One user has posted images showing nearly $40,000 of deductions labeled “ATM/Deposit error” on his account after attempting to use the “glitch”.
Yesterday, a glitch in Chase Bank's system allowed people to withdraw funds they weren’t entitled to, prompting the bank to place 7-day holds on the affected accounts.
As a consequence, chase account holders who participated in this glitch are now dealing with massive negative… pic.twitter.com/T0M1FULvoW
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) September 1, 2024
As scams and hacks gain in sophistication, it is more important than ever to have a base level of financial literacy to protect yourself from falling for them – or even, as Chase Bank’s spokesperson said, an understanding that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Featured image credit: Pixabay via Pexels
