Chase, a major US bank, has said that a “glitch” in its system to withdraw cash is trending on TikTok, but that it is “simple fraud”.
Chase issued the warning on Monday after social media posts went viral alleging that customers were exploiting delays in the banking system to withdraw more money than they had in their accounts.
According to People, customers allege that they would knowingly deposit bounced checks, often in large amounts, and then quickly withdraw cash from Chase Bank ATMs before the checks bounced.
Chase said in a statement that it had fixed the issue and issued a stern warning that the trend was actually just check fraud.
“We are aware of this incident and have already addressed it,” Chase said in a statement. “No matter what you see online, depositing a fraudulent check and withdrawing funds from your account is fraud, plain and simple.”
It wasn’t immediately clear how many Chase customers had tried this.
One video posted to social media shows purported attendees shouting in joy and throwing cash into the air, but other videos show them becoming upset after seeing large negative balances in their bank accounts, even though records of cash withdrawals remain, even though bounced cheques were ultimately dishonored.
Social media users who watched the trend spread frequently responded with humorous jokes.
“Check kiting. It’s called check kiting. And it’s been around since the invention of checks,” Cornell University law professor Dan Orley wrote to X.