Forget Monopoly: A bank error in your favor almost never works out.
Some people who tried to take advantage of the viral “Chase Bank glitch” could face serious consequences, experts say, including frozen bank accounts, negative balances in the thousands of dollars — and even jail time.
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The glitch, which has been highlighted in several viral TikTok videos, had some people believing that they could get “free” cash from Chase JPM ATMs. According to these posts, at least some Chase cash machines allowed customers to deposit a check that they wrote to themselves for an amount larger than the balance in their bank account. This gave them immediate access to some or all of the money listed on the check.
Banks can sometimes take several days to verify checks prior to making funds available in customers’ accounts. But in the case of the “Chase Bank glitch,” some or all of the money listed on the deposited check was available immediately, allowing people to withdraw the funds before the checks were identified as fraudulent. Posts online showed that some of these fraudulent transactions were for as much as $40,000.
As one would expect, the bank took action after social-media posts surfaced of this “glitch” occurring. Chase said the issue has “been addressed” and urged people not to try it anymore.
“Regardless of what you see online, depositing a fraudulent check and withdrawing the funds from your account is fraud, plain and simple,” a Chase spokesperson said.
Legal and account experts agree. “The intent to do this is nothing short of fraud,” Dr. James Mohs, accounting professor at the University of New Haven, told MarketWatch. “Depending on the severity of the fraud, penalties can be levied on a state or federal level or both, and can run from fines to incarceration. Facts and circumstances would dictate the severity of the penalties.”
And some people who did this could face severe penalties, depending on which state they’re in and how much money the check was written for. Here’s an example of how these check-fraud punishments could be handed down in New Jersey, for example, according to criminal law attorney Kevin Conway.
|
Check amount |
Offense |
Jail time (up to) |
Fine amount |
|
Under $200 |
Disorderly persons |
6 months |
Up to $1,000 |
|
$200-$1,000 |
Fourth-degree |
18 months |
Up to $10,000 |
|
$1,000-$75,000 |
Third-degree |
5 years |
$15,000 |
|
Over $75,000 |
Second-degree |
10 years |
$150,000 |
These charges listed above are only for check fraud, and depending on the case, other charges could be added to a person’s actions.
“If they cash the money, take the money, don’t give the money back, then it becomes criminal,” Conway said. “If they are bragging about it, that they know it’s a mistake, [then] it’s grand larceny. It doesn’t take much to become a felony.”
To be clear, not every bank error is a criminal offense. “I’ve had cases where the bank puts money into someone’s account by mistake,” said Conway. “That’s OK that in and of itself isn’t a crime.”
But you do have to give that money back. “If you spend it and don’t give it back, or take it to the next level like people are doing here, where they realize it’s a problem with the system, [then] it becomes a bigger problem, because your actions are intentional,” Conway added.
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So how could people really think they could get away with such a move — especially after sharing it on social media?
“When it comes to intentional fraud, people’s motivations are always confusing and defy logic and are hard to justify. Fraud is fraud, whether the amounts are small or not,” Mohs said.
Will people actually go to jail over the Chase Bank glitch? It depends.
If a person didn’t return the money, they could face harsh penalties, as it’s up to the financial institution whether it wants to make a criminal referral.
JPMorgan Chase declined to comment on possible criminal referrals.
“First-degree and second-degree is an automatic state prison sentence, the ranges are high. Third- and fourth-degree, you can get local time or probation with local time. It’s not good,” Conway said.
But the charges could change, too.
“If you negotiate it down to a lesser sentence, you can plead to a second degree and get sentences to a third [degree], then potentially you wouldn’t have jail. It’s all subject to negotiation,” Conway said.
But jail time isn’t the only punishment that people who exploited this glitch could face. Many users who uploaded videos of themselves performing this “free money” hack later posted shots of their bank accounts having massive negative balances, sometimes in the tens of thousands of dollars, once Chase deducted the stolen cash from the accounts. Other people who tried taking advantage of the glitch reported holds being placed on their bank accounts.
“This Chase glitch s***, don’t do this s*** man,” one person who claimed to try the glitch said in a follow-up video. His account showed a negative balance of $10,997.58.
