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The Almighty Buck IT

Bank of Ireland IT Blunder Allows Customers To Withdraw More Money Than What's Held In Their Accounts (independent.ie) 38

Posted by BeauHD from the it's-your-lucky-day dept.
Long lines have formed at ATMs around Ireland tonight as a cash machine glitch is allowing customers to withdraw more cash than they have in their accounts. Independent.ie reports: The fault with the online app allows people who have no money in their account to transfer up to 500 euros into a Revolut account. Some people claimed they were able to get access to 1,000 eros, but the bank insisted the daily withdrawal limit is 500 euros. Once people use their Bank of Ireland app to transfer the funds to Revolut they can then withdraw the cash from the Revoult account through any ATM.

Huge queues at ATMs in Dublin, Limerick, Dundalk and other parts of the country were reported this evening as people took advantage of the screw-up to withdraw cash from their Revolut accounts. There were reports in Dundalk of gardai (the state police force of the Irish Republic) having to control crowds at ATMs in the town. The frenzied withdrawal of cash was despite warnings on social media that there is no such thing as free cash and the money will have to be repaid. The bank said in a statement: "We are working on a technical issue that is impacting a number of our services including our mobile app and 365Online. We are working to fix this as quickly as possible and apologize to customers for any inconvenience caused."

"We would like to remind customers that if they transfer or withdraw funds -- including over their normal limits -- this money will be debited from their account," the bank added. "While we are conscious customers may not be able to check their balance at this time, they should not withdraw or transfer funds if they are likely to become overdrawn."
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Bank of Ireland IT Blunder Allows Customers To Withdraw More Money Than What's Held In Their Accounts More

Bank of Ireland IT Blunder Allows Customers To Withdraw More Money Than What's Held In Their Accounts

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  • dumbasses (Score:4, Informative)

    by FudRucker ( 866063 ) on Tuesday August 15, 2023 @08:45PM (#63770918)
    i am sure those ATMs are recording all the transactions and those that took advantage of this blunder will soon be visited by the authorities

    • It's no much and they'd have to prove they knew their balance was lower.

    • More likely, it will be treated like an overdraft. If the bank isn't stupid, it will waive any overdraft penalties if the customer brings the balance above zero within a reasonable time.

    • i am sure those ATMs are recording all the transactions and those that took advantage of this blunder will soon be visited by the authorities

      Sure and begorrah they will.

    • I came here to say the exact same thing, "dumbasses".

    • i am sure those ATMs are recording all the transactions and those that took advantage of this blunder will soon be visited by the authorities

      Uh, banks have "authority" funds to deploy "authorities" to people's homes...for the heinous crime of...overdrafting?

      Please explain your not-a-fascist state again. The rest of the free would, is rather curious...

      • If they did it knowing that the money was not on their account . Which by lining up in droves mean many did. Then it is stealing.

        • If they did it knowing that the money was not on their account . Which by lining up in droves mean many did. Then it is stealing.

          The line between stupid and criminal, is becoming more and more blurred.

          Good luck, prosecutors. I hope the tax increases are favored for the jail crowds.

    • They will just end up with a negative balance in their accounts. I can't imagine a world in which the bank wouldn't impose all of the normal fees for overdrawing your account at that point. This will be a net-positive for the bank's coffers.

  • Happened in Australia (Score:4, Informative)

    by tlhIngan ( 30335 ) <slashdot@worf.ERDOSnet minus math_god> on Tuesday August 15, 2023 @09:37PM (#63771014)

    A bartender managed to withdraw more money than what was in his bank account and as long as he returned the money the next day, he was fine.

    So the next day, he took out even MORE money, used that to pay back the money he overdrew the day before, and had money to spend. And he kept it going, spending over $1.6M AUD in the process.

    https://www.newsweek.com/atm-g... [newsweek.com]

    He told the bank, but the bank refused to arrest him until his conscience got the better of him and he turned himself in. LIkely the bank didn't want news like that going out lest other people do the same thing or realize the bank made such a stupid mistake.

    If you want it in video form, this video covers it as well. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]

    • LIkely the bank didn't want news like that going out lest other people do the same thing or realize the bank made such a stupid mistake.

      Why do I have a feeling this policy existed for so long because the bank engages in the same kind of day-by-day loan fuckery for profit with customer money, and perhaps didn't want that to come to light...

  • Overdraft! (Score:5, Informative)

    by klipclop ( 6724090 ) on Tuesday August 15, 2023 @10:39PM (#63771074)
    Banks call this service overdraft... Even if you don't have that as an option on your account, you do now if you decided to withdraw funds you didn't have available! Lol
    • Yes but, (A) you still must repay the money and (B) overdraft fees are a bitch. Banking 101, (the banks always win).

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Bert64 ( 520050 )

        Exactly this, most banks will allow some level of overdraft by default without you having to pre agree it. If you want to avoid going negative and thus being hit with punitive charges you have to explicitly request the bank to deny any overdraft on your account. All of these people making a 500 euro withdrawal are just going to be hit with unarranged overdraft fees plus interest.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by mjwx ( 966435 )

          Exactly this, most banks will allow some level of overdraft by default without you having to pre agree it. If you want to avoid going negative and thus being hit with punitive charges you have to explicitly request the bank to deny any overdraft on your account. All of these people making a 500 euro withdrawal are just going to be hit with unarranged overdraft fees plus interest.

          In the UK, this has been used to skirt laws/checks on giving out credit... A &pound:500 "overdraft" is a credit card by any other name (it even comes with an interest free "grace" period).

      • I choose not to repay.
  • They will simply debit your account properly at a later date. This will force you into over draft, then the bank will start charging you a adsorbent fees on the overdraft. Don't be an idiot, it is not free money. Return it before you f**k yourself over.

    • They will simply debit your account properly at a later date. This will force you into over draft, then the bank will start charging you a adsorbent fees on the overdraft. Don't be an idiot, it is not free money. Return it before you f**k yourself over.

      So this bank was not being charitable and equitable after all?

  • So many people want to borrow 500 euros (Score:5, Insightful)

    by battingly ( 5065477 ) on Tuesday August 15, 2023 @11:54PM (#63771150)
    Seems crazy that people would queue up like that just so they can borrow 500 euros. Or maybe they're clueless enough to think they won't have to pay it back.

    • Worse still. If you're queueing up to withdraw this then there's an implicit assumption that you are attempting to access funds you're not entitled to. This can actively be treated as fraud in many places.

      I remember one case where an ATM was spitting out the wrong notes. Some guy withdrew and got more money than expected. That was fine. That is a mistake. That is defendable as being entitled to the money. What got him in legal trouble is that he went back for seconds.

    • Seems crazy that people would queue up like that just so they can borrow 500 euros. Or maybe they're clueless enough to think they won't have to pay it back.

      In other words, it's a bug exploiting people with cognitive deficits.

      Well, just a heartwarming story all around then ...

  • Now to figure out what I want to spend my 17 BILLION dollars on.
  • This is more of a demonstration of financial illiteracy than any "blunder" on the Bank's part.
  • Isn't this how fractional reserve banking works? This genius bank just found a way to collect millions in overdraft fees aka interest.

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