By Abigail Holliday
Staff Writer
A viral JP Morgan Chase Bank check “glitch” led to thousands being reported to authorities for fraud.
NBC reported how people on the internet were encouraged to write a fake check to themselves for a large sum of money, go to their nearest Chase ATM, deposit the check and withdraw all the money before the check can clear.
This “hack” was actually check fraud, which is knowingly depositing a bad check to obtain money illegally and is considered a federal offense. While the punishment varies depending on the state and amount of money, in New Jersey, attempting to deposit a bad check between $1,000 and $75,000 is punishable by up to five years in prison and/or a fine of $15,000. Attempting to deposit a bad check over $75,000 is punishable by 10 years in prison and/or paying fines up to $150,000.
However, there actually was a temporary technical glitch that made this felony tempting to those who tried it: Instead of only being able to withdraw a partial amount of the deposited check before it had cleared, or in their case, bounced, these people were able to withdraw the full amount in cash.
The trend was documented to have originated on X and had made its way to TikTok, where it had promptly garnered hundreds of thousands of views, supposedly enticing many more to partake in this offense.
Photos and videos on both TikTok and X depict people lining the streets to get access to a Chase ATM, celebrating and passing around their Chase Bank card, and throwing large amounts of money into the air. Posts made on social media document those withdrawing as much as $80,000.
Within 24 hours, Chase had become aware of the situation, and they had blocked or put a hold on users’ accounts, leaving behind large negative balances in each one, doing what they could to get as much money back. Chase reported that they were investigating “thousands” of these occurrences and reported them to the police, but the official number of people involved nor the amount of money lost is not yet confirmed by Chase or authorities.
A Chase representative told the New York Post, “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.”
After being convicted of check fraud, outside of paying possible fines and serving jail time, the consequences are lasting. The criminal offense may stay on public record forever, reputable jobs might hesitate to hire depending on the nature of the role and make it difficult, or even impossible, to open a checking account in the future.
