Many new ideas turn out to be old ideas in new packaging, and this proved to be the case with what has entered folklore as the Chase free money glitch. A TikTok video that went viral, claiming to provide a way of getting “free money” from Chase bank, turned out to be just another check fraud scheme. We’re left wondering what Frank Abagnale Jr, played by Leonardo DiCaprio in the popular movie Catch Me If You Can, would say.

The twist of detail in this tale comes with the social media angle, one that creates an environment in which it can be difficult to separate fact from fiction. Misinformation, cons, and increasingly sophisticated crypto-fueled pig butchering scams proliferate and, as Slate put it: video apps have “have empowered financially illiterate creators to push their ideas directly to other financially illiterate users.”

The Chase free money glitch became A Thing over Labor Day weekend, as a few viral posters pushed the notion that checks could be deposited at Chase bank and a significant proportion of the funds withdrawn immediately.

Soon after, people began lining up outside of Chase branches to cash in on self-written checks, filming themselves rejoicing in what appeared to be a massive windfall.

Too good to be true?

Typically, a portion of a check is available for withdrawal before the full amount is cleared pursuant to a security check. The time between the deposit and availability of funds is typically dependent on a variety of factors, including customer standing and account history.

However, some funds are usually available immediately, allowing a customer to withdraw substantial amounts of cash. So the fraudulent withdrawals were probably less of a bug, and more of an abused feature. It is unclear if there really was an underlying flaw that caused more funds than usual to be immediately available.

This caused participants to write themselves checks for amounts in the tens of thousands and withdraw a significant portion. If it ever hit the participants that the deal was too good to be true, they didn’t show it.

But it turns out that money was not exactly “free”: soon, the participants opened their accounts to find freezes and negative balances equal to the cashed funds.

The apparently unwitting and disillusioned fraudsters are now are wondering if they’ll be let off the hook or face further repercussions. Chase said the issue had been “corrected,” but there is no word on whether it will pursue additional actions.

Penalties for check fraud range from fines to years of jail time, so be careful out there.