Buzz
A Pennsylvania couple is facing felony charges for purchasing an SUV, a race car, two four-wheelers, and gifting $15,000 to their friends after a bank teller mistakenly deposited $120,000 into their joint account. Three weeks after the mix-up—and just a day after the couple spent over $107,000 of the funds—the bank demanded its money back. Now that’s awkward.
Since “What to do if money appears in your bank account” is a phrase that Google quickly suggests (surprisingly, or maybe not?), let’s break down what belongs to you and what doesn’t.
This is not like that rule where if a retailer mistakenly sends you a package, you get to keep it. Extra money that shows up in your bank account is not yours to keep.
“Eventually, the bank will reach out to the customer. They’ll first reverse the transaction and might also file a police report after conducting proper research. This means the bank will contact the customer and ask the necessary questions,” Doug Johnson of the American Bankers Association told NBC News in 2017. If you notice something unusual and don’t inform your bank, both the bank and potentially the police will be curious about why you didn’t act sooner.
And think about this: If simple human error can cause transactions to get mixed up, it’s possible that one day your hard-earned money could land in someone else’s account as well. Reporting unusual activity (whether good or bad) you spot in your account can help alert banks to potential security or procedural issues that go beyond your personal balance. Sharing is caring—unless, of course, you’re talking about the $120,000 that unexpectedly ended up in your account.
