A viral TikTok trend has repurposed bank fraud as an exploitable “Chase glitch” offering unlimited money for free. Unfortunately, it seems some people can’t smell the rot in this highly questionable scheme, which seems to have driven them to commit crimes and rack up huge debts.
The Chase “glitch” has gotten a lot of attention on TikTok over the past few days, but thankfully most creators have been talking about how unwise it was rather than trying to exploit it. Nonetheless, several photos and videos circulating on social media show people ostentatiously showing off stacks of cash after apparently using this apparent real-life currency “glitch”, or after the error was corrected , panicking that bank balances are now deep in the red.
How to protect yourself from bank fraud
Chase’s funding “glitch” was simple. Chase customers would write themselves a bad check for a staggering amount, deposit it into the bank, and then quickly withdraw cash from an ATM before the bank discovered the funds didn’t exist.
This is similar to a bad check, a form of bank fraud that has been around for more than a century. However, if we’ve learned anything from living in the hell of capitalism, it’s that branding is everything. Simply calling bank fraud a “glitch” is apparently enough to deter people from understanding the true nature of the crime, thereby inducing them to try it themselves.
Mix and match speed of light
Of course, since people used their own bank accounts to work around this “glitch,” it should be pretty easy for Chase to track them down.
“We are aware of this incident and have addressed it,” Chase said in a statement shared with multiple publications. “Regardless of what you see online, fraudulent checks are deposited and withdrawn from your account. Withdrawing funds is fraud, plain and simple.”
Tweet may have been deleted
It’s unclear exactly how Chase’s “glitch” trend started, or how many people actually tried it. It’s entirely possible for people to create fake screenshots or skits to take advantage of virality, which seems more reasonable than believing they could defraud thousands of people at America’s largest bank and come out unscathed. We can only hope that most people are just joking and aren’t actually using TikTok to commit bank fraud.
Mashable has reached out to Chase for further comment.
With the cost of living soaring, many people are looking for ways to make extra cash. So easy-money hacks like the Chase “Glitch” seem very tempting. However, remember that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
