In 2011, a 29-year-old Australian man called Dan Saunders discovered an ATM glitch enabling him to withdraw cash far beyond his account balance. Over a span of 5 months, he splurged $1.6 million of the bank's funds on lavish parties, private jets, international vacations, and even covered his friends' university fees.
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The man in question, Dan Saunders, was a bartender in his hometown of Wangaratta, three hours north of Melbourne.
The discovery of the ATM glitch was purely accidental. On a night out, Saunders was trying to check his account balance but the ATM kept displaying the message “balance unavailable at this time.” He decided to transfer $200 from his credit account to his savings and it said “transaction cancelled” but still dispensed the cash.
This was the beginning of his journey into the world of unlimited cash.
Saunders soon realized that the ATM couldn’t record transactions during late-night maintenance but still dispensed cash.
He found that he could “create” the money by doing a transfer between 1 and 3 in the morning, which is when he realized ATMs go offline. He had to always stay one day ahead, meaning that on the first day he spent $2,000, but on the second day he transferred $4,000 to make sure his balance didn’t stay negative.
This was the loophole that allowed him to live a millionaire’s lifestyle for a few months.
Interestingly, Saunders described how it was “quite baffling” that no authorities attempted to stop him, so he continued to spend like it would be his last day to do so. One of his most extravagant purchases was chartering a $90,000 private jet to take him and some friends to a remote Asian island for a weekend. After his arrest, Saunders returned to his job as a bartender, earning $22 an hour.
In 2011, a 29-year-old Australian man called Dan Saunders discovered an ATM glitch enabling him to withdraw cash far beyond his account balance. Over a span of 5 months, he splurged $1.6 million of the bank's funds on lavish parties, private jets, international vacations, and even covered his friends' university fees.
,
The man in question, Dan Saunders, was a bartender in his hometown of Wangaratta, three hours north of Melbourne.
The discovery of the ATM glitch was purely accidental. On a night out, Saunders was trying to check his account balance but the ATM kept displaying the message “balance unavailable at this time.” He decided to transfer $200 from his credit account to his savings and it said “transaction cancelled” but still dispensed the cash.
This was the beginning of his journey into the world of unlimited cash.
Saunders soon realized that the ATM couldn’t record transactions during late-night maintenance but still dispensed cash.
He found that he could “create” the money by doing a transfer between 1 and 3 in the morning, which is when he realized ATMs go offline. He had to always stay one day ahead, meaning that on the first day he spent $2,000, but on the second day he transferred $4,000 to make sure his balance didn’t stay negative.
This was the loophole that allowed him to live a millionaire’s lifestyle for a few months.
Interestingly, Saunders described how it was “quite baffling” that no authorities attempted to stop him, so he continued to spend like it would be his last day to do so. One of his most extravagant purchases was chartering a $90,000 private jet to take him and some friends to a remote Asian island for a weekend. After his arrest, Saunders returned to his job as a bartender, earning $22 an hour.
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