A Supposed ATM Glitch Has Allowed People Nationwide to Take out Large Cash Amounts: Chase’s Response

A recent viral TikTok and X (formally known as Twitter) scandal involving check fraud recently caught the attention of people – and Chase Banks – nationwide.

The trend, which gained social media traction this past weekend, highlighted that if people deposited a fake check into a Chase Bank ATM and then took out the specific amount of money quickly after, the banks would not be able to charge them with anything after the check bounced.

“This is pretty much traditional check fraud, ” NerdWallet financial expert Kimberly Palmer said. “If you cash a check that’s fake and then withdraw money, you’re still responsible for the money that you withdrew.”

The people participating in the trend claimed it was caused by a supposed glitch in this ATM system. However, that information was false, as there was no glitch in the machines.

Chase Bank — whose parent company is JPMorgan — was recently made aware of the check fraud trend and told NBC News, “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.”

The bank also reportedly froze people's accounts and took money out of them anyway, resulting in large negative balances for those involved in the fraudelent scheme.

“Bank errors in your favor are almost never in your favor . In the case of this ‘glitch,’ it was just check fraud.” said Instagram financial educator Jim Wong. “The people that were doing this we're seeing big holes in their accounts or huge negative balances.”

Continued Wong, “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 alone and tell the bank.”

As of now, it seems that only Chase Bank was affected by the TikTok check fraud scandal.

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What exactly is check fraud?

Check fraud isn’t a new concept, and has been around for quite some time. It also goes way beyond just cashing a check and not having the money in your account that matches the balance.

Some of the most well-known check fraud cases consist of forging someone else's signature on a check, writing a bad check, changing the amount of money originally written on a check and writing a counterfeit check.

There has also been a rise in mail-in check fraud, which happens when someone steals a check mailed to someone else. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinChen) is aware of this and had its Acting Director Himamauli Das state in a 2023 statement, “FinCEN is proud to partner with the United States Postal Inspection Service in producing this important and timely alert on mail theft-related check fraud designed to assist financial institutions in reversing this disturbing trend.”

“Their vigilance and timely reporting will help law enforcement identify illicit actors who steal mail with the goal of defrauding innocent American taxpayers and businesses.”

Committing check fraud is punishable by up to 30 years in prison, probation and some hefty fines.

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