ECONOMY & WORK
MONEY 101
NEWS
PERSONAL FINANCE
NET WORTH
About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Terms of Use DMCA Opt-out of personalized ads
© Copyright 2023 Market Realist. Market Realist is a registered trademark. All Rights Reserved. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.
MARKETREALIST.COM / ECONOMY & WORK

Man with only $3 finds an ATM glitch that gave him millions in cash. Then, he did the right thing

His girlfriend grew concerned about the amount of money he was spending.
UPDATED OCT 25, 2024
A well-dressed man walks through the city streets, shopping bags swinging by his side, as he pauses at an ATM for a cash refill. (Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Studio4)
A well-dressed man walks through the city streets, shopping bags swinging by his side, as he pauses at an ATM for a cash refill. (Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Studio4)

ATMs that crank out unlimited cash can only exist in our imagination, or do they? This is exactly what happened with a 29-year-old man Dan Saunders in 2011. Saunders, who was a working barman in Wangaratta, Australia, was out with a friend for a few drinks when he realized that he didn't have much cash on him, via Vice. 



 

So he decided to take a short walk to the nearest National Australia Bank ATM. He inserted his card and discovered that he had only $3 in his account. He then decided to try one of the options offered by the bank, which was to transfer his funds from his credit account to his savings account. It came as no surprise that the bank declined to transfer money from the credit account to the savings account.

However, soon he was stunned to realize that his savings account showed a bank balance of $203. He took some cash out and returned to the bar to enjoy the rest of the evening.


 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Dan Saunders (@atmdansaunders)


 

On his way back, he stopped at the ATM and tried to transfer funds to his account, and once again the ATM machine showed that the request had been declined. However, his savings balance went up. Up until this point, Saunders had worked at a bar and had never been involved with the police. However, he soon returned to another ATM and transferred $2,000.

This was happening due to a glitch in the system which Saunders failed to understand. At first, he believed that the issue was in a particular ATM and only worked in the morning. However, he soon realized that it worked in all ATMs of that bank and could be done at any time of the day. 

Saunders's girlfriend, who was a teacher at a local primary school, grew concerned about the amount of money Saunders was spending and the fact that he seemed to go to the ATMs so often. Despite having the plan to get hitched soon, his girlfriend decided to end the relationship. After the breakup, his expenditure only worsened, so much so that it started taking a toll on his mental health. 

He began to pay for the company of women and took his friends on exotic short breaks. Once he even chartered a helicopter to take a small group to a $ 2,000-per-night luxury hotel. The bank didn't seem to be concerned about the whole matter. Saunders would occasionally get calls from the bank to confirm if it was him who had used the card, as long as he confirmed, there didn't seem to be a problem. 


 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Dan Saunders (@atmdansaunders)


 

On one such occasion, someone from the bank called to ask why Saunders had tried to withdraw $900,000 from an ATM the previous night, to which he said that he was drunk and had probably pressed the wrong buttons. However, things really went south when he started to lose sleep about this whole thing. He suffered panic attacks so badly that he needed medical attention. 

After seeing a psychiatrist, he decided to turn himself in. The following month, he called the bank, which said that they had already understood what he was doing and had contacted the police. Three years passed and nothing happened. He soon decided to talk to the media and appeared on an Australian national current affairs television show, The Current Affair, to finally talk about what he had done. Soon the police became very interested and in 2014, Saunders was finally charged with over 100 counts of fraud and theft.



 

He found himself in court in 2015, and the world realized that around $1.6 million from NAB had somehow found its way to Saunders' account. In Australia and many other countries, “larceny by finding” is a crime. This means that you cannot simply keep money or items just because you found them. Saunders was sentenced to 12 months in prison and he served another 18 months under a community corrections order. He was also ordered to pay the bank $250,000 in compensation. After his time in jail, he says that he feels way better and is at peace. He also took time out to write his story, which later appeared as an 8-part podcast narrated by Dan and a movie version, Cashout!

This article originally appeared 1 month ago.

MORE ON MARKET REALIST
The sharks did not expect the product to taste as good as it did, considering what it was made from.
4 hours ago
The designer was also commissioned by top brands and worked for the royal family.
5 hours ago
The host had a look of bewilderment on his face which was absolutely hilarious.
6 hours ago
Things did not seem to be going well for the entrepreneur due to her high energy.
9 hours ago
The guest might have had high expectations, but they were quickly brought down to earth.
10 hours ago
The contestant was unable to contain her excitement and hugged the model.
1 day ago
Two of the players got it right, and while the player who lost didn't mind, fans were not satisfied.
1 day ago
Lisa celebrated her birthday in style with a perfect two-card guess to win the big prize.
1 day ago
Rick Harrison did what he could to console the guest who said that he had lost faith in NASCAR.
1 day ago
Both the guest and the expert were fascinated by how well the automaton worked.
2 days ago
One of the entrepreneurs broke down in tears, explaining all the struggles they had to go through.
2 days ago
She couldn’t believe it when her doll was appraised at a five-figure sum, and laughed in disbelief.
2 days ago
Ken Jennings truly has embraced "Jeopardy!" in every way possible at this point.
2 days ago
The comedian was impressed by the simplicity of the product and amused by the pitch.
3 days ago
Harrison usually makes smart deals on the show, but this vintage car buy turned into a costly mistake.
3 days ago
Had she started the game in a better way, she might have won the five-figure prize money.
3 days ago
Barbara Corcoran made the exact same offer, and she wasn't happy about being rejected.
4 days ago
The guest believed that it was worth a modest amount of money, but that was clearly not the case.
4 days ago
With James Holzhauer in the lead, Amy Schneider and Andrew He decided to joke around.
4 days ago
Barbara Corcoran told the founders that she had never seen Greiner so passionate.
4 days ago