Pictured, an ATM at a JP Morgan Chase Bank branch location, Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022, in Iowa City, Iowa.
© Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK
(New York, NY) – If you’re thinking about participating in the latest TikTok trend — it may not be worth it. While the videos are going viral, it could put you in a bad spot financially — if not legally. Chase Bank says the viral trend is really just check fraud.
During the long Labor Day Holiday weekend, videos began to emerge showing people walking out of ATM vestibules holding large amounts of cash. Some people then threw the bills up into the air — making it “rain” — and creating a stunning visual for their video. The stunt involves depositing a fake check for a large amount of money, then withdrawing cash immediately on that balance. But when the bank realizes the check is fake, those same users have a large, negative account balance.
People seem to mistakenly believe this is a system “glitch” rather than the way all check deposits work. The bank grants depositors access to some of the deposit amount, before the full amount of the check and the check itself can be verified. There are already long-established laws concerning check fraud, despite these neophytes seemingly believing this is a “new find.”
Chase has released a statement saying the so-called “glitch” has been addressed. The bank adds “regardless of what you see online, depositing a fraudulent check and withdrawing the funds from your account is fraud, plain and simple.”
