JP Morgan Chase is suing customers over 'infinite money glitch' ATM scam

The JPMorgan Chase headquarters building is seen in New York City. The banking giant is filing lawsuits against customers who exploited a viral technical glitch this summer that allowed people to pull huge amounts from Chase ATMs. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

JPMorgan Chase has begun filing lawsuits against customers who took advantage of an “infinite money glitch” this summer — a technical issue with the bank’s ATMs that allowed people to deposit bogus checks and withdraw the money from their accounts.

The trend shot across social media with TikTok users broadcasting how to deposit the fraudulent checks and walk away with huge sums of cash.

The bank, which is the largest U.S. financial institution, has so far filed four suits — two against individuals and two against businesses. These have been in Los Angeles, Houston and Miami.

“Fraud is a crime that impacts everyone and undermines trust in the banking system,” Chase spokesperson Drew Pusateri said in a statement. “We’re pursuing these cases and actively cooperating with law enforcement to make sure if someone is committing fraud against Chase and its customers, they’re held accountable.”

In the largest of the four suits filed so far, in the Southern District of Texas, JPMorgan wrote that a "masked man" deposited a fraudulent $335,000 check into a defendant's bank account at an ATM.

The man allegedly then withdrew most of the cash before the bank had realized it was counterfeit. The bank said it is owed back a sum of $290,939.47.

“Chase prides itself on its efforts to protect its customers against fraudsters, particularly in an environment where bank and wire fraud are increasingly more commonplace,” the bank said in its filing.

“While fraud methods have evolved over time, the core intent to exploit and deceive remains unchanged,” it said.