Bank accidentally deposits $92 million in customer's account but her happiness was short-lived

A customer of Malaysia’s biggest bank became a millionaire after $86 million was accidentally deposited into her account. However, the riches weren't for her to spend as her assets were promptly frozen. For someone who got unexpectedly rich, Hafizah Abdullah was awfully frustrated as the glitch happened around her salary date and she had bills to pay, Bloomberg reported.

It was about $92 million

Last year, when Abdullah checked her account at the end of the month she discovered that her balance was over 404 million ringgit, which was about $86.3 million at the time, and about $92 million today. It would have been great news for anyone in the country where the average household income is about $22,000 per year, as per local news outlet, The Star. 

However, Abdullah knew that she wasn't supposed to spend the money. “You’d think I hit the lottery, right?” she wrote on LinkedIn alongside a screenshot of her multimillion-dollar account balance. The director and co-founder of a human resources firm vented her frustration via the post. 

“Dear Maybank, I appreciate your making my banking experience memorable,” she wrote. She then explained that the glitches had become a recurring issue and it had turned into “a comedy of errors that nobody finds funny”. After the glitch, she said she had to visit a branch of Malayan Banking and face long waits on the phone to reach customer service.

"They say money can't buy happiness, but Maybank knows how to buy frustration," she said. She added that her account was blocked around salary day, and she had bills to pay, visiting the bank had become a part of her new daily routine. 

Maybank later confirmed the incident, as per Bloomberg, and stated that the issue was resolved.

It wasn't only Abdullah who did not find the situation funny at all. Several readers of her post took to the comments section to share similar complaints.

Many empathized with her as well.  "I hope you get a reimbursement for every hour you lost over this fiasco. Minimum hourly professional fee rate," wrote Awang Mohamad Edwani. "I hope so! It does take a lot of hours, energy & patience," replied Abdullah. 

Some even joked about it and suggested that she could have committed a perfect crime. "If you transfer the money to another bank, then it will be ours forever," suggested Mohamad Afiq Sidqi. However, Abdullah rightfully pointed out that there had been cases where people had to pay the bank back, after using the accidental money. 

Turns out, Abdullah was right. Back in 2019, a couple from Pennsylvania unexpectedly got rich in a similar situation. However, in this case, the North Carolina-based Truist Bank, (formerly BB&T Bank) had left the $120,000 open to access. 

Unsurprisingly, Robert Williams and his wife Tiffany Williams spent the money in just two weeks on cars, bills, and a camper and they even gifted their friends about  $15,000, the New York Post reported. 

Their joyride came to an end after they were caught and arraigned on charges of theft and receiving stolen property. They were ordered to pay back about $107,416 to BB&T Bank and were placed for seven years in prison, per Pennlive.