Viral 'free money hack' at Chase Bank is no hack. It could be a crime

A free money "hack" is surely tempting, especially when you see multiple TikTok users banking their share of the pot. But as the internet proves time and time again, what you see isn't always what you get, and what those users actually got was the opposite of a boost in their bank accounts.

The recent TikTok trend claimed a "glitch" in Chase Bank's ATMs allowed users to deposit fake checks for large sums of money and then withdraw a smaller portion of it before the check inevitably bounced.

Videos across the app showed various people celebrating after believing they'd hit the free money jackpot, but days later, some of those same creators shared that their celebrations had turned sour.

Not only were most of them dealing with seven-day holds on their accounts, but they also saw heavy declines in their account balances after the bank eventually deducted what the consumer had withdrawn for "free." This left many with overdrawn or locked accounts and others in massive debt, with one TikTok user showing his account was nearly $11,000 in the negative.

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As it turns out, the "hack" to get the Chase ATM free money was no helpful tip at all — unless you wanted a hack for committing a crime. It was really just a form of check fraud, which can carry fines and even jail time depending on where you live.

Chase Bank said in a statement that it's addressed the issue and is now working to determine how many customers and how much money was involved in the incident. It also warned consumers to stay away from viral trends involving their finances.

"Regardless of what you see online, depositing a fraudulent check and withdrawing the funds from your account is fraud, plain and simple," a Chase spokesperson said.

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