Inspired by this exact scenario (starts at 8:00, continues here) discussed in the Gervais/Merchant/Pilkington XFM show.
You find an ATM - nobody is around, there’s no cameras to be seen. It has a card in it and the PIN has been entered, you can see a considerable sum of money in the account balance.
Merchant says he took £30 as a little reward, Karl says he’d take £20, Ricky says he wouldn’t take anything.
What do you do?
Take the card out, close out the screen, take the card back to the bank next time they’re open.
It would feel much too creepy taking money out of someone else’s account.
There’s ALWAYS a camera. Usually about 6 inches from your face.
For most ATMs in the US, the limit is something like $300 per day unless they opt for different. At any rate, there aren’t many amounts that are worth getting charged with bank fraud or whatever applies here.
I would remove the card, and either drop it in the mail or deposit slot, or else throw it away.
Other: I would–and have, twice–take the card to the issuing bank and turned it in there. Once was really easy, the person ahead of me at the drive-thru at the issuing bank left their card. I just turned left instead of right, parked and walked in. The other time I had to drive across town three days later.
If it was an out-of-town bank, I suppose I’d mail it.
I’d try to return it. I’ve been on the other end of this, left my card at an ATM on Christmas Eve, and went back an hour later and it was gone. It was a real pain reporting it lost, dealing with a Severe Lack of Cash over the holidays, and then getting a new card.
I wouldn’t take anything and I would try to return it, too - in situations like this, I always put myself in their shoes and think how bad I’d feel if someone stole from me because I had a brain fart.
ETA: Jinx!
Yup. There’s a camera, and they can match it to the withdrawal.
I found a card in this situation once, years ago. I took it out and handed it in at the service desk of the store (a university bookstore) that had the ATM mounted outside.
I voted “other.” The thing is, in the machines that still hold the card during the transaction (more rare these days), if the card sits long enough the machine beeps a warning and tells you the card’s still in the slot. If the card remains, the machine just sucks the card all the way in and it gets recovered with the other deposits by the bank.
I used to work in banking and with ATM’s, and I’ve also had this happen to me.
I can’t even imagine taking someone else’s money in that situation. That would be an incredibly shitty thing to do to someone.
Last time I was in a similar situation, I called the bank and let them know. They put a hold on the account and instructed me to destroy the card, which I did. They said they would contact the customer and send them a new card.
Last time this happened I ran after the guy car for a couple of blocks, then tracked him down via phone to return it. It was Thanksgiving, so I was concerned he’d be money-less for four days if I didn’t. He said thanks.
I used to think I would return it, but considering all the money I’ve had stolen from me over my life, it’s hard not to think of it as my time to get even he…he…heee 
Remind me never to be in front of you at the ATM.
I’d assume I was on some candid camera show, since that would never happen in real life.
Take nothing and try to return the card (probably by going to the bank it’s drawn on).
Definitely, absolutely, no doubt about it, take nothing and try to return the card. Hands down. Wouldn’t even consider another option. That’s just wrong. Someone made a mistake and left themselves vulnerable. You do the right thing and help them out.
Other – in that I would obviously take nothing, but I’d immediately take it into the bank. I don’t steal any other time, why would I do so now?
Yeah, no brainer. Take nothing, try to return the card.
Your turn, Mr. Kobayashi…
I’d turn it in. Stealing is unethical enough to keep me from doing so by itself, but even ignoring the moral issue doing so using a machine that has a camera and keeps records is just asking to get caught. And since I’m not a thief, even if there’s a clever way around that I don’t know it. And then there’s the likelihood that it’s a sting operation or scifisam2009’s Candid Camera style stunt.
Yeah, the only reason I can think of for stealing is not that you don’t know it’s wrong, just that you don’t think you’ll get caught, and I don’t think that’s a valid defence in court.
This happened to me in college, sans the balance showing. Because of the circumstances at the time (no cell phone, at night, no car, not a local bank, not close to home and not heading there, didn’t want to be carrying around a stolen card indefinitely) I figured the safest thing to do was to clear the transaction and let the ATM ‘eat’ the card by getting the PIN wrong a bunch of times. So, that’s what I did.
That’s why I put “wouldn’t return the card”. Destroying it was safer for everyone.