# You find your bank balance is $100 million.... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 28, 2015, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-your-bank-balance-is-100-million/716179 "2015-03-28T02:38:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2015, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-your-bank-balance-is-100-million/716179/21 "2015-03-29T23:34:53Z")
I’d just sit back and live my life as normal, secure in the knowledge that, until the bank catches on, none of my normal checks will bounce. And firm in the knowledge that they’ll catch on in a few days and send me a nice note, but would not let me keep for my trouble the thousands of dollars of interest it earned. The bastards. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2015, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-your-bank-balance-is-100-million/716179/22 "2015-03-30T01:09:17Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > I’d just sit back and live my life as normal, secure in the knowledge that, until the bank catches on, none of my normal checks will bounce. And firm in the knowledge that they’ll catch on in a few days and send me a nice note, but would not let me keep for my trouble the thousands of dollars of interest it earned. The bastards. 🙂 I just looked and the “President Select High Yield Checking” from a nearby bank earns the whopping (drum roll) 0.10% APY. So the $100M would earn you $274 per day. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2015, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-your-bank-balance-is-100-million/716179/23 "2015-03-30T04:58:49Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > I’d be going, “hmmm…what countries won’t extradite you over something like this, and do any of them have nice beaches?” The USA for one, ask a guy named Calderhart: > **[The saga of Udecott and Calder Hart](https://www.guardian.co.tt/article-6.2.416593.b663e934c5)** > > Business Guardian > [@](#): > > As its executive chairman, Calder Hart ruled over the Urban Development Corporation of T&T. > That is, until March 2010, when he resigned suddenly in the midst of documents linking him and a company the Udecott board awarded $820 million in contracts. Immediately after his unexpected resignation, Hart, his wife and daughter took a flight to Ft Lauderdale, Florida. It seems a local time honored corruption in politics tradition to make sure you have a secondary (or third) citizenship to flee to. He has yet to return and lives openly. [http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/I\_LL\_\_BE\_\_BACK-199463861.html](http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/I_LL __BE__ BACK-199463861.html) Ain’t no one extraditing to Trinidad. ---
**Author:** ![Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ac8455/32.png) [@Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Your_Great_Darsh_Face)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2015, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-your-bank-balance-is-100-million/716179/24 "2015-03-30T09:13:51Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > With regards to the ethical/moral aspects, though, if the bank puts money in your account by mistake, and you use the money, then how is that, technically speaking, different than if you accidentally place a platter of cookies in your neighbor’s front yard, and he eats them? (Sorry for the odd analogy, but I can’t think of another.) > Sure, the cookies belong to you, but you put them in your neighbor’s yard, he didn’t come take them from you. And someone might, out of the goodness of their heart, see fit to gift you a platter of cookies with no explanation. If you think that’s what’s happened and you eat the cookies, it’s a small matter to make restitution. The rest of this explanation is left as an exercise for the student. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2015, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-your-bank-balance-is-100-million/716179/25 "2015-03-30T09:52:38Z")
> [@Iggy](#): > > I once was the recipient of a bank’s error similar to the OP’s example. The teller entered my account number where she should have entered the amount of my deposit. > > When I tried to alert the bank manager he was rudely insistent that they couldn’t have made an error. And I thought he would be interested in a 70+ million dollar error! > > They fixed the issue shortly thereafter. Places that badly managed often loose a lot of money to employee theft. That doesn’t make it any less annoying though: I quite the Bank after they made a (much smaller) mistake like that. And I was glad when the Bank finally folded due to making the same kind of mistakes on a grand scale that they were making on a small scale with retail customers like me. The world is a better place without badly run banks. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2015, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-your-bank-balance-is-100-million/716179/26 "2015-03-30T12:36:52Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > I’d just sit back and live my life as normal, \*\*secure in the knowledge that, until the bank catches on, none of my normal checks will bounce. \*\* And firm in the knowledge that they’ll catch on in a few days and send me a nice note, but would not let me keep for my trouble the thousands of dollars of interest it earned. The bastards. Until the bank realizes something’s screwed up and freezes your account to keep you from using any of the money. My first reaction would be to withdraw most of what I think of as my money and deposit it in another banking, leaving $100 million and change in the original bank, and let them figure it all out. > [@](#): > > The balance read ninety-nine million, nine hundred and ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine dollars and ninety-nine cents ($99,999,999.99). Looks like somebody hit the high score on Asteroids. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2015, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-your-bank-balance-is-100-million/716179/27 "2015-03-30T16:55:34Z")
I’d say to the bank, look, you gave me this money by accident. How much are you going to pay me for having this in my account? After all, it could affect my benefits/tax (and it actually would). Due to my honesty in alerting you to this error, credit me with any interest accrued plus allot me a sum for my troubles, that sum to be decided by our lawyers. I wouldn’t try to withdraw the money and skip the country because that would fail. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2015, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-your-bank-balance-is-100-million/716179/28 "2015-03-30T17:05:56Z")
$100 million?!? Where did the rest of my money go? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2015, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-your-bank-balance-is-100-million/716179/29 "2015-03-30T17:11:03Z")
Going to the media might be sort of a, “you might not want to trust this bank, people” kind of thing. Well, that and trying to cover his ass, in case anyone wants to accuse him of taking it. “See, I publically stated it wasn’t mine!” ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2015, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-your-bank-balance-is-100-million/716179/30 "2015-03-30T18:55:45Z")
I had a $24,000.00 hiccup deposit into my account once. I didn’t even know about it until the bank called me (shortly after it happened I guess). They explained there was an error, and that due to the sum amount it would take a couple of days to disappear again, so don’t overspend in my account! I logged in, saw the money, got a chuckle, and it disappeared on its own like they said it would. ---
**Author:** ![Astral\_Rejection](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/258eb7/32.png) [@Astral\_Rejection](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astral_Rejection)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2015, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-your-bank-balance-is-100-million/716179/31 "2015-03-30T20:16:42Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > I’d say to the bank, look, you gave me this money by accident. How much are you going to pay me for having this in my account? After all, it could affect my benefits/tax (and it actually would). Due to my honesty in alerting you to this error, credit me with any interest accrued plus allot me a sum for my troubles, that sum to be decided by our lawyers. > > I wouldn’t try to withdraw the money and skip the country because that would fail. Honest question: does a person actually have any legal standing to do any of what you recommend? It seems counter to my layperson’s understanding of the law and taxes. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2015, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-your-bank-balance-is-100-million/716179/32 "2015-03-30T20:34:16Z")
Something similar happened to me about 20 yrs ago. I went to the ATM and to withdraw some cash. The ATM flashed up a balance of $162,xxx. Well, my balance could have 16xx dollar so I thought I just read the balance wrong. Turns out the School’s system payroll had been deposited into my account. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2015, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-your-bank-balance-is-100-million/716179/33 "2015-03-30T21:23:15Z")
I actually saw something kind of similar on a client’s bank statement once. $23.5 million deposited and withdrawn in the same day, with a memo on those lines that must have been some kind of internal error code. It was partly funny because the client hadn’t even noticed the transaction, which tells you how much attention most people pay to their business activity. Anyway, I would caution against trying to keep any of the money for yourself unless you have a top-notch lawyer who’s telling you otherwise. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-find-your-bank-balance-is-100-million/716179.md?page=1)