Over the past few years, there have been a number of mistakes made by banks and other financial institutions. A lot of people dream of receiving a large sum of money in their bank account for no reason. Some people have been rather fortunate in this regard, even though this money had to be returned in every case. Bank accounting errors are far more common than most people realize.

#4 A US$31,000 Gift

One lucky teenager residing in Georgia was more than happy when he checked his bank account balance on that fateful day. Thanks to a banking error, he had received US$31,000 from an unknown sender and promptly used the money to go on a large shopping spree. When this mistake was discovered, nearly all of the money was spent already. To this day, it remains unclear if the money has been returned and whether or not charges have been pressed.

#3 A 250,000 GBP Mystery Deposit

Discovering a large amount of money in one’s bank account without a valid cause should always be a reason to be concerned. One UK resident noticed he had 250,000 GBP in his balance for some reason. After a call to the UK Payments Council, it turned out the transfer was wrongfully credited to the man’s bank account. It took the bank over a week to investigate this transaction, and the funds were reversed promptly. Thankfully, no money was spent during this seven-day period.

#2 The Malaysian US$3.3m Deposit

One 21-year-old Malaysian student was over the moon back in 2012, as she received a US$3.3m deposit as an overdraft. Interestingly enough, this transfer was not returned in a timely manner, and she was able to spend close to US$2.5m of the money within the first year. It is baffling how people think they are entitled to such a vast sums of money when it suddenly appears in their bank account.

The story grows more intriguing, as it took the bank nearly four years to launch an investigation that would warrant the student’s arrest. She only spent one night in jail after being detained at the Sydney Airport in Australia, though. Since the bank never officially noticed the error, the spending of said funds is difficult to deem illegal, albeit morally incorrect. The girl was forced to pay back the money, although it is doubtful she will ever make enough money to do so.

#1 A Staggering AU$123 Million

It seems near impossible to think banks can make an accounting mistake for the sum of AU$123m. Nothing could be further from the truth, though, as such an error occurred to Australia’s Matthew Pearce. After checking his bank account through the mobile app, he noticed somebody has deposited AU$123m into his bank account for no apparent reason. As one would expect from a mobile app, Pearce was able to transfer the money out if he wanted to do so.

Commonwealth bank, the institution responsible for the accounting error, was notified about his situation yet did nothing to sort things out. It took them two weeks to get back to Pearce and explain how this glitch “can happen sometimes”. Although the transfer was reversed at one point, it goes to show banks cannot be trusted with one’s money. Accounting errors like these will cost people a lot of money, as they are seemingly far more common than anticipated.

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