So, here’s the tea: some TikTokers thought they’d hit the jackpot when a glitch at Chase Bank ATMs made it seem like they could pull out loads of cash, even if their accounts were on life support (aka, empty). But what looked like “free money” turned out to be a huge disaster.
The drama all started when a glitch at Chase Bank somehow let people deposit fake checks or request big loans and withdraw the cash before the bank realized what was happening. Usually, when you deposit a check, the bank takes a few days to do its thing and make sure everything is legit. But this little bug skipped all those steps, and some people thought they could make bank—literally!
Word spread fast on TikTok and X (formerly Twitter), and soon people were lining up outside Chase locations, trying to grab some of that “glitch cash.” One video showed a crowd outside a Chase in New York City, hoping to score. Another group was even dancing and throwing cash in the air outside a Chase in Yonkers, New York, living their best lives… for a minute, anyway.
But Chase was not having it. They quickly fixed the glitch and hit back with a warning: “What you’re doing? Yeah, that’s called fraud. And it’s illegal.” Once the glitch was patched up, the consequences came in fast. People who tried to cash in found their accounts frozen or, even worse, hit with huge negative balances. One unlucky TikToker posted a screenshot showing they owed nearly $40,000. Yikes!
Financial expert Jim Wang explained what went down: “Chase had a glitch, people withdrew money they didn’t actually have, and now they’re stuck with big holds or negative balances.” He added, “If you try to pull something like this, you’re gonna end up in serious trouble.”
The moral of the story? Just because some extra cash lands in your account doesn’t mean it’s yours to keep. If you spend it, you will have to pay it back. And if that money isn’t actually yours, you could be looking at fines, legal action, or worse—jail.
Austen Allred, co-founder of Bloom Tech, summed it up: the viral “unlimited money glitch” was basically just people writing fake checks to themselves and withdrawing the money before the bank caught on. Spoiler alert: that’s check fraud, which can lead to fines up to $1 million and a serious prison sentence.
So, next time you see a viral trend promising “free money,” maybe think twice before hopping on that bandwagon!
