Bartender withdrew $1.6 million in 4 months due to technical error in ATM
An ordinary bartender in Australia lived a luxurious life, withdrawing millions of dollars at night, thanks to a loophole in the banking system.
Quick Look
Dan Saunders, a bartender in Australia, noticed a systemic vulnerability in the bank ATM and withdrew 1.6 million Australian dollars in 4 months and lived in luxury.
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Why It Matters
Dan Saunders took advantage of the bank's infrastructure switching to offline mode at night to withdraw money from an ATM.
Dan Saunders, who lived his life as an ordinary bartender, encountered the biggest opportunity of his life when he noticed a technical error at the ATM in the middle of the night. Saunders, who discovered the flaw in the banking system, lived a luxurious life, withdrawing millions of dollars for four months, thanks to this error, which only worked for a few hours at night.
IT ALL STARTED WITH A 3 DOLLAR ACCOUNT
According to Ladbible, the incident took place in Wangaratta, a town in the Australian state of Victoria. Saunders, who went to the ATM after spending time at a bar with his friends, had only 3 dollars (147 TL) in his account.
Saunders tried to transfer $200 (9 thousand 832 TL) from his credit card to his checking account. Even though the ATM warned that the transaction was unsuccessful, the money was transferred to his account.
Surprised by what happened, Saunders tried the same procedure several more times that night. Each time the money was transferred to his account, he realized that there was a serious error in the system and began to investigate the cause.
HE ONLY WORKED AT NIGHT
Saunders' investigation revealed a remarkable detail. He found that the bank's infrastructure went into offline mode between 01:00 and 03:00 every night.
Money transfers made during these hours were instantly approved by the system, but were canceled during settlement during the day. Saunders, on the other hand, managed to withdraw money before these cancellations by making new transfers one after the other.
Thus, he was able to make transactions as if he had large amounts of money in his account that did not actually exist. He continued to withdraw large amounts of cash from ATMs using the same method every night.
WITHDRAWED 1.6 MILLION IN 4 MONTHS
Saunders used this method for about four months. During this period, he withdrew a total of 1.6 million Australian dollars, that is, approximately 54 million 655 thousand TL.
The bartender, who suddenly gained a large amount of money, began to spend the money on a luxurious life. He rented a private jet, stayed in luxury hotels and made various personal expenses.
A simple system error he noticed at the ATM in the middle of the night completely changed Saunders' life. Thanks to the deficit that only occurred between 01.00 and 03.00, an ordinary bartender reached a fortune of millions of dollars in four months.
Open Questions
- How did Saunders' incident come to light?
- What was the bank's legal process?
