Bank Error In Your Favor, Collect $2,180,583 (Australian)
May 7, 2018 1:33 PM Subscribe
What happened when a bank glitch gave a 24-year old Australian man access to unlimited funds for two years.
Yeah, I don't think I'd be able to relax. I'd always be watching for the cops.
posted by triage_lazarus at 1:49 PM on May 7, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by triage_lazarus at 1:49 PM on May 7, 2018 [5 favorites]
I hope he checked in with whatever Australia's equivalent of the bar association's character and fitness committee is before he decided to spring for law school. Because even without a criminal conviction, I have a feeling they might not love admitting this guy to the bar.
posted by jacquilynne at 2:06 PM on May 7, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by jacquilynne at 2:06 PM on May 7, 2018 [16 favorites]
You know, good for this dude. I mean, fuck this dude too because yeah I'm envious and I don't have what it takes to be that dude, but hell, if you're gonna go hard like this then by god go hard
posted by Annika Cicada at 2:08 PM on May 7, 2018 [32 favorites]
posted by Annika Cicada at 2:08 PM on May 7, 2018 [32 favorites]
Is this the same kid who had a rowdy party and then was rude on TV about it or do all Australian men under 30 look and dress exactly the same?
posted by Copronymus at 2:10 PM on May 7, 2018 [18 favorites]
posted by Copronymus at 2:10 PM on May 7, 2018 [18 favorites]
hell, if you're gonna go hard like this then by god go hard
bogans, amirite?
posted by GuyZero at 2:11 PM on May 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
bogans, amirite?
posted by GuyZero at 2:11 PM on May 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
It's, it's the vibe, your honour
posted by Sebmojo at 2:12 PM on May 7, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by Sebmojo at 2:12 PM on May 7, 2018 [11 favorites]
And yet when the banks screw people out of millions of dollars they get bonuses.
posted by ODiV at 2:13 PM on May 7, 2018 [39 favorites]
posted by ODiV at 2:13 PM on May 7, 2018 [39 favorites]
St. George declined to comment on the acquittal, though it later contacted Milky to tell him it was not coming after him for his remaining debt.
Holy cow, thank bank just... let him off the hook?
Granted, recovering the money is slim to none and would have destroyed the rest of Milky's life, but... damn.
posted by porpoise at 2:14 PM on May 7, 2018 [3 favorites]
Holy cow, thank bank just... let him off the hook?
Granted, recovering the money is slim to none and would have destroyed the rest of Milky's life, but... damn.
posted by porpoise at 2:14 PM on May 7, 2018 [3 favorites]
or do all Australian men under 30 look and dress exactly the same?
Yeah, he's Milky, not Cory. They all look the same...
posted by Thella at 2:15 PM on May 7, 2018 [3 favorites]
Yeah, he's Milky, not Cory. They all look the same...
posted by Thella at 2:15 PM on May 7, 2018 [3 favorites]
Legend.
posted by turbid dahlia at 2:18 PM on May 7, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by turbid dahlia at 2:18 PM on May 7, 2018 [8 favorites]
Yeah, he's Milky, not Cory. They all look the same...
Problematic, imo
posted by Sebmojo at 2:18 PM on May 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
Problematic, imo
posted by Sebmojo at 2:18 PM on May 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
Years ago my dad bought a refrigerator for like $800 and paid for it with a check and then a couple months later I overheard him complaining to my stepmother that that goddamned check hadn’t cleared yet and it was screwing up his checkbook.
This went on for months until he finally called the bank who told him to call the Sears and they told him they didn’t have any record of that transaction whatsoever.
“Well now what am I supposed to do?” he said.
“Enjoy your free refrigerator.”
Which he did, I think, but only because he kept that $800 on his check register. “Just in case.”
posted by notyou at 2:21 PM on May 7, 2018 [85 favorites]
This went on for months until he finally called the bank who told him to call the Sears and they told him they didn’t have any record of that transaction whatsoever.
“Well now what am I supposed to do?” he said.
“Enjoy your free refrigerator.”
Which he did, I think, but only because he kept that $800 on his check register. “Just in case.”
posted by notyou at 2:21 PM on May 7, 2018 [85 favorites]
I had something like this happen on a much smaller scale. In the late 1970s, when I was a teenager, I got offered a credit card from [REDACTED], one of the major oil companies. I accepted because my parents advised me it would be a good way to start building credit. Out of the blue, after months of ordinary use, the miracle occured. Whenever I charged a purchase to the card, the expenditure was listed as a credit instead of a debt. Every month my credit balance got higher and higher. It was great being able to treat for gas, etc. with my magic card, but I worried about the inevitable. Eventually, after the credit got up to about $1200 the gravy train stopped. But [REDACTED] never demanded that I pay back the money. The credit remained on my account and subsequent purchases just ran the credit back down all the way to zero.
I am a loyal customer to this day.
posted by carmicha at 2:23 PM on May 7, 2018 [101 favorites]
I am a loyal customer to this day.
posted by carmicha at 2:23 PM on May 7, 2018 [101 favorites]
It's like Office Space. I bet this guy owns a red stapler.
posted by 4ster at 2:23 PM on May 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by 4ster at 2:23 PM on May 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
I just wish this hadn't fucked up his parents' lives. His dad got demoted and his mom ended up bedridden for a month from the stress.
Although actually it was the bank that fucked up his parents' lives, by siccing the cops on him over their own incompetence. But I still wish he had given more thought to protecting them. To luck into millions of dollars and not use any of it to help your family seems kiiiinda selfish to me.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 2:25 PM on May 7, 2018 [30 favorites]
Although actually it was the bank that fucked up his parents' lives, by siccing the cops on him over their own incompetence. But I still wish he had given more thought to protecting them. To luck into millions of dollars and not use any of it to help your family seems kiiiinda selfish to me.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 2:25 PM on May 7, 2018 [30 favorites]
A friend's mother once paid her bills one month, only to have the mortgage company tell her some weeks later that she was several hundred dollars short on her last payment. She dug out the canceled check, sent them a copy, and they went away. Then she opened her utility bill for the next month to find she had a several hundred dollar credit.
Turns out she had written the checks properly, but accidentally swapped them when stuffing envelopes, but neither organization noticed (or cared) that the checks were made out to someone else, and neither had a problem cashing them.
posted by fings at 2:28 PM on May 7, 2018 [23 favorites]
Turns out she had written the checks properly, but accidentally swapped them when stuffing envelopes, but neither organization noticed (or cared) that the checks were made out to someone else, and neither had a problem cashing them.
posted by fings at 2:28 PM on May 7, 2018 [23 favorites]
Which he did, I think, but only because he kept that $800 on his check register. “Just in case.”
My mother carried $116.73 or somesuch number (she would still know) on her chequebook register for well over a decade, also because Sears credited a cheque to a transaction but never cashed the cheque. She inquired, she offered to send them a new cheque, they had no way of dealing with that, so they just didn't. Too bad that wasn't a bigger transaction, I suppose.
The only reason she doesn't now is that online banking means she no longer balances her chequebook every month.
posted by jacquilynne at 2:29 PM on May 7, 2018 [4 favorites]
My mother carried $116.73 or somesuch number (she would still know) on her chequebook register for well over a decade, also because Sears credited a cheque to a transaction but never cashed the cheque. She inquired, she offered to send them a new cheque, they had no way of dealing with that, so they just didn't. Too bad that wasn't a bigger transaction, I suppose.
The only reason she doesn't now is that online banking means she no longer balances her chequebook every month.
posted by jacquilynne at 2:29 PM on May 7, 2018 [4 favorites]
Although actually it was the bank that fucked up his parents' lives, by siccing the cops on him over their own incompetence. But I still wish he had given more thought to protecting them. To luck into millions of dollars and not use any of it to help your family seems kiiiinda selfish to me.
I agree on both counts, but find the bank's behavior more interesting than Milky's. The fact that this happens semi-regularly indicates that they knew that it was their fuck-up, and that they could bully customers into taking the blame. I'm impressed that he was able to mount a successful legal defense, and also more surprised that more folks don't. I guess that people who take millions of dollars in advantage of this often aren't in a position to do the same, since you have to be desperate to do so in the first place. I'm always happy when a bank gets screwed over, though.
posted by codacorolla at 2:29 PM on May 7, 2018 [7 favorites]
I agree on both counts, but find the bank's behavior more interesting than Milky's. The fact that this happens semi-regularly indicates that they knew that it was their fuck-up, and that they could bully customers into taking the blame. I'm impressed that he was able to mount a successful legal defense, and also more surprised that more folks don't. I guess that people who take millions of dollars in advantage of this often aren't in a position to do the same, since you have to be desperate to do so in the first place. I'm always happy when a bank gets screwed over, though.
posted by codacorolla at 2:29 PM on May 7, 2018 [7 favorites]
Maybe I'm not doing the math right, but that doesn't seem like enough years to go from high-school graduate to law school graduate.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 2:31 PM on May 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by The Underpants Monster at 2:31 PM on May 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
I wonder what happened to the girlfriend in Thailand?
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 2:33 PM on May 7, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 2:33 PM on May 7, 2018 [4 favorites]
Memo to self: if anything like this happens, *invest* some of that free money. No, not in celebrity memorabilia. In a mix of ultra-boring market index funds and a handful of wild cards.
posted by egypturnash at 2:42 PM on May 7, 2018 [12 favorites]
posted by egypturnash at 2:42 PM on May 7, 2018 [12 favorites]
It sounds to me like the band downsized the job of the person who was supposed to approve overdraughts and they stupidly made it fail on time-out to allowing the charge.
posted by Megafly at 2:52 PM on May 7, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by Megafly at 2:52 PM on May 7, 2018 [5 favorites]
I once had an ATM card that gave me free money. It was for my dad's account, but when I withdrew cash it actually took it from another account (as in, my dad's account ended in an 8, but the money was withdrawn from an account that ended in a 6). It was weird. The only reason I ever figured out this was happening was because I borrowed $20, then when I went to the bank to deposit cash to pay him back, the teller looked confused and insisted no withdrawal had ever taken place. After comparing the records and watching me use the card, they realized something was wrong and replaced the card on the spot.
If I had known, what havoc I could have wreaked...
posted by caution live frogs at 2:56 PM on May 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
If I had known, what havoc I could have wreaked...
posted by caution live frogs at 2:56 PM on May 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
If he'd invested any significant portion of the money, the bank would probably have found a way to take it.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 2:56 PM on May 7, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 2:56 PM on May 7, 2018 [6 favorites]
Maybe I'm not doing the math right, but that doesn't seem like enough years to go from high-school graduate to law school graduate.
Law is typically an undergraduate degree in Australia, although a law degree in itself isn't enough training to practice law.
posted by howfar at 2:57 PM on May 7, 2018 [6 favorites]
Law is typically an undergraduate degree in Australia, although a law degree in itself isn't enough training to practice law.
posted by howfar at 2:57 PM on May 7, 2018 [6 favorites]
a handful of wild cards.
Yeah, I guess Magic cards must have been used for money laundering at some point.
posted by howfar at 2:59 PM on May 7, 2018 [4 favorites]
Yeah, I guess Magic cards must have been used for money laundering at some point.
posted by howfar at 2:59 PM on May 7, 2018 [4 favorites]
If he'd invested any significant portion of the money, the bank would probably have found a way to take it.
Thats the point where you claim to have spent it all on hookers and blow.
posted by Lanark at 3:16 PM on May 7, 2018 [10 favorites]
Thats the point where you claim to have spent it all on hookers and blow.
posted by Lanark at 3:16 PM on May 7, 2018 [10 favorites]
a handful of wild cards.
Yeah, I guess Magic cards must have been used for money laundering at some point.
There was a bank office in toronto near the hockey hall of fame that used to a have a ground floor display that showed that investing in certain hockey cards during a specific time period would have yielded a higher return than any stocks.
posted by srboisvert at 3:24 PM on May 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
Yeah, I guess Magic cards must have been used for money laundering at some point.
There was a bank office in toronto near the hockey hall of fame that used to a have a ground floor display that showed that investing in certain hockey cards during a specific time period would have yielded a higher return than any stocks.
posted by srboisvert at 3:24 PM on May 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
Somebody ran a scam in NYC back in the '80s where they opened up two checking accounts at two different banks, and then swapped the MICR numbers from the two sets of checks. So they would deposit a not-too-large-to-draw-attention check at an ATM. It would kick out of the check processing machine because of the MICR mismatch. Somebody would look at it, see the address of a different bank and send it off to them, where the same thing would happen. In the meantime, the deposit had already hit the books. The checks would go back and forth, racking up small deposits, which the scammer would withdraw from ATMs before they accumulated. The only reason they eventually got caught was because one of the checks finally disintegrated after going back and forth hundreds of times, and someone took more than a cursory look at it.
posted by lagomorphius at 3:24 PM on May 7, 2018 [18 favorites]
posted by lagomorphius at 3:24 PM on May 7, 2018 [18 favorites]
Huh. When I was in grad school I declined one TAship and took another, but ended up getting deposits for both. I figured it out halfway through the semester and was then really torn about whether to keep mum and play dumb, or to get ahead of it. It turned out to be about $4,000.
I ended up telling the admin and paying the extra money back. But there was something in the secretary's tone when she told me they would've figured it out that makes me doubt that they would have.
Sometimes I lie awake at night...
posted by Beardman at 3:26 PM on May 7, 2018 [11 favorites]
I ended up telling the admin and paying the extra money back. But there was something in the secretary's tone when she told me they would've figured it out that makes me doubt that they would have.
Sometimes I lie awake at night...
posted by Beardman at 3:26 PM on May 7, 2018 [11 favorites]
Somebody ran a scam in NYC back in the '80s where they opened up two checking accounts at two different banks, and then swapped the MICR numbers from the two sets of checks. So they would deposit a not-too-large-to-draw-attention check at an ATM. It would kick out of the check processing machine because of the MICR mismatch. Somebody would look at it, see the address of a different bank and send it off to them, where the same thing would happen. In the meantime, the deposit had already hit the books. The checks would go back and forth, racking up small deposits, which the scammer would withdraw from ATMs before they accumulated. The only reason they eventually got caught was because one of the checks finally disintegrated after going back and forth hundreds of times, and someone took more than a cursory look at it.
I remember being told about this case when I was working for MasterCard, but I could have used the Google first and learned it was some guy named Frank Abagnale.
posted by lagomorphius at 3:31 PM on May 7, 2018 [18 favorites]
I remember being told about this case when I was working for MasterCard, but I could have used the Google first and learned it was some guy named Frank Abagnale.
posted by lagomorphius at 3:31 PM on May 7, 2018 [18 favorites]
showed that investing in certain hockey cards during a specific time period would have yielded a higher return
Fuck you, Gretsky.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 3:38 PM on May 7, 2018 [7 favorites]
Fuck you, Gretsky.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 3:38 PM on May 7, 2018 [7 favorites]
I was sympathetic when he was just paying off his mortgage, but the cocaine and prostitutes thing lost that sympathy for me.
posted by corb at 3:50 PM on May 7, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by corb at 3:50 PM on May 7, 2018 [6 favorites]
"Slapping the Pokie". That's what I learned from this article.
posted by Liquidwolf at 3:59 PM on May 7, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by Liquidwolf at 3:59 PM on May 7, 2018 [10 favorites]
I love the fact that I read the comments and everyone's talking about that one time when a retailer failed to take a payment or something*, and then I click across and start reading the story, and this bloke's just spending it on sex and drugs and general grossness.
*never directly happened to me, but I did once get a phone free on a 24 month contract, and couldn't manage to get them to start the contract once I'd got the phone
posted by ambrosen at 4:00 PM on May 7, 2018 [4 favorites]
*never directly happened to me, but I did once get a phone free on a 24 month contract, and couldn't manage to get them to start the contract once I'd got the phone
posted by ambrosen at 4:00 PM on May 7, 2018 [4 favorites]
On the other hand, I was pretty shocked by how much partying he was able to do for just a couple million. A few luxury cars, some international vacations, and an endless stream of gambling, drinking, drugs, and prostitutes—plus sharing generously with his friends, where "friends" means anyone who happened to be in the room with him at the time.
There are people in this world who could afford to piss their money away like this for the entire rest of their lives with lots left over, and I wish they would just fucking do it and stop fucking with the rest of us. Why are they buying politicians and oppressing immigrants and such when they could just be relatively harmlessly enjoying themselves all the time?
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 4:01 PM on May 7, 2018 [42 favorites]
There are people in this world who could afford to piss their money away like this for the entire rest of their lives with lots left over, and I wish they would just fucking do it and stop fucking with the rest of us. Why are they buying politicians and oppressing immigrants and such when they could just be relatively harmlessly enjoying themselves all the time?
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 4:01 PM on May 7, 2018 [42 favorites]
Also, I've still never posted an actual FPP on this, but I've posted it as a comment: Here's the time a UK bank's IT department got the taste for ATM cards that weren't linked to their accounts.
posted by ambrosen at 4:02 PM on May 7, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by ambrosen at 4:02 PM on May 7, 2018 [4 favorites]
Maybe he didn't do any of the partying; he just took a bunch of pictures making it look like he did, buried the $2 million in his yard, and will be using his newfound skills in law to figure out how to launder it, invest it, and live off it for most of his life.
posted by pretentious illiterate at 4:09 PM on May 7, 2018 [21 favorites]
posted by pretentious illiterate at 4:09 PM on May 7, 2018 [21 favorites]
Waaaaaaaaait... his father was a bank executive, he got a job from his father as a bank teller after he had a horrific accident, and then his overdrafts started being ignored?
Does this not sound suspicious?
posted by clawsoon at 4:12 PM on May 7, 2018 [12 favorites]
Does this not sound suspicious?
posted by clawsoon at 4:12 PM on May 7, 2018 [12 favorites]
MetaFilter: a proportionally huge and hideous scrotum
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:16 PM on May 7, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:16 PM on May 7, 2018 [3 favorites]
"Slapping the Pokie". That's what I learned from this article.
I have lived in Australia for 20 years, an hour away from Goulburn, and have never heard a single person say this even once.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 4:19 PM on May 7, 2018 [11 favorites]
I have lived in Australia for 20 years, an hour away from Goulburn, and have never heard a single person say this even once.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 4:19 PM on May 7, 2018 [11 favorites]
Even a regular sheep scrotum is quite an impressive
organ. I'm not sure I'd say "hideous" (I mean… it's just kind of a furry bag?) but "huge," yes, definitely.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 4:21 PM on May 7, 2018
organ. I'm not sure I'd say "hideous" (I mean… it's just kind of a furry bag?) but "huge," yes, definitely.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 4:21 PM on May 7, 2018
Holy cow, thank bank just... let him off the hook?
Presumably because, as he himself discovered, they actually had no case and had, in fact, given him the money?
posted by kenko at 4:26 PM on May 7, 2018 [7 favorites]
Presumably because, as he himself discovered, they actually had no case and had, in fact, given him the money?
posted by kenko at 4:26 PM on May 7, 2018 [7 favorites]
Even a regular sheep scrotum is quite an impressive
organ. I'm not sure I'd say "hideous" (I mean… it's just kind of a furry bag?) but "huge," yes, definitely.
Now picture it 4 metres high and crafted in concrete. It's... something.
The Big Merino is a standard stop on road trips out of Sydney. There's a big carpark and a few services stations next it. The Merino is angled in such a way that you cannot park the car for a pee break and a cup of coffee without coming face to face (so to speak) with the pride of the Pride of Goulburn.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 4:26 PM on May 7, 2018 [7 favorites]
organ. I'm not sure I'd say "hideous" (I mean… it's just kind of a furry bag?) but "huge," yes, definitely.
Now picture it 4 metres high and crafted in concrete. It's... something.
The Big Merino is a standard stop on road trips out of Sydney. There's a big carpark and a few services stations next it. The Merino is angled in such a way that you cannot park the car for a pee break and a cup of coffee without coming face to face (so to speak) with the pride of the Pride of Goulburn.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 4:26 PM on May 7, 2018 [7 favorites]
It reminded me of famous Patrick Combs story, where a bank sent him a check they thought was fake but which he deposited anyway, after having verified that it was in fact negotiable. The money was sent, then (after too long had passed) they realized what happened and fought tooth and nail to recover it, even though he'd done everything on the up and up: he received, and deposited, a negotiable check made out to him.
posted by kenko at 4:28 PM on May 7, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by kenko at 4:28 PM on May 7, 2018 [5 favorites]
They let you be a lawyer in Australia, after this? Hell yeah.
But if I was that guy, and there's like a trillion ways I'm not... But if I was that guy, I'd sell the movie rights, and I'd buy a jet ski, and I'd park it right next to my own little mountain of cocaine right on the beach. Just sayin'.
posted by kleinsteradikaleminderheit at 4:31 PM on May 7, 2018 [3 favorites]
But if I was that guy, and there's like a trillion ways I'm not... But if I was that guy, I'd sell the movie rights, and I'd buy a jet ski, and I'd park it right next to my own little mountain of cocaine right on the beach. Just sayin'.
posted by kleinsteradikaleminderheit at 4:31 PM on May 7, 2018 [3 favorites]
You mean porntipsguzzardo really works???
posted by Thorzdad at 4:35 PM on May 7, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Thorzdad at 4:35 PM on May 7, 2018 [4 favorites]
The title of this post is somewhat deceptive. While Moore was cleared of the fraud charge, he had to pay the money back. That is, after all, how overdraft protection works in the first place. It's one thing to not prosecute for fraud, but it's another thing to not demand repayment.
"Mr Moore was obliged at all times to pay the money back."
"I had to give everything back"
It looks like he stashed enough money and couched enough in fungible items (cars, memorabilia) that he was able to pay it back or at least cut a deal.
His parents, on the other hand, have likely been committed.
posted by I EAT TAPAS at 4:53 PM on May 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
"Mr Moore was obliged at all times to pay the money back."
"I had to give everything back"
It looks like he stashed enough money and couched enough in fungible items (cars, memorabilia) that he was able to pay it back or at least cut a deal.
His parents, on the other hand, have likely been committed.
posted by I EAT TAPAS at 4:53 PM on May 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
Does this not sound suspicious?
It did to his father's bosses, sounds like.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 4:54 PM on May 7, 2018 [3 favorites]
It did to his father's bosses, sounds like.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 4:54 PM on May 7, 2018 [3 favorites]
Yeesh, I remember when a snowstorm killed a bunch of banks and transmission lines when I was in college, I overdrafted by believing the ATM balance (NEVER BELIEVE THE ATM BALANCE) and that banker lady YELLED AT ME ...
posted by tilde at 4:59 PM on May 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by tilde at 4:59 PM on May 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
How does the ATM even report a balance, even a wrong one, if it can't talk to the bank? Where would it be getting its information?
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 5:13 PM on May 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 5:13 PM on May 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
“He’s the kind of guy who’s always looking out for you,” says one of his older sisters, Sarah. Provided 'you' aren't a blood relation, seems like.
posted by Iris Gambol at 5:15 PM on May 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Iris Gambol at 5:15 PM on May 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
How does the ATM even report a balance, even a wrong one, if it can't talk to the bank? Where would it be getting its information?
Credit/debit memos. If the batch isn't processed right away, it will catch up later.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 5:41 PM on May 7, 2018 [4 favorites]
Credit/debit memos. If the batch isn't processed right away, it will catch up later.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 5:41 PM on May 7, 2018 [4 favorites]
On the other hand, I was pretty shocked by how much partying he was able to do for just a couple million. A few luxury cars, some international vacations, and an endless stream of gambling, drinking, drugs, and prostitutes—plus sharing generously with his friends, where "friends" means anyone who happened to be in the room with him at the time.
There are people in this world who could afford to piss their money away like this for the entire rest of their lives with lots left over, and I wish they would just fucking do it and stop fucking with the rest of us. Why are they buying politicians and oppressing immigrants and such when they could just be relatively harmlessly enjoying themselves all the time?
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 8:01 AM on May 8 [10 favorites +] [!]
Exactly. Hookers, blow, and fancy cars aren't that expensive. But something happens when you realize it - you start thinking, "If sex and mindstates are this easy to bend with money, what about the rest of the world?" Cue the evils of capitalism.
posted by saysthis at 5:47 PM on May 7, 2018 [8 favorites]
There are people in this world who could afford to piss their money away like this for the entire rest of their lives with lots left over, and I wish they would just fucking do it and stop fucking with the rest of us. Why are they buying politicians and oppressing immigrants and such when they could just be relatively harmlessly enjoying themselves all the time?
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 8:01 AM on May 8 [10 favorites +] [!]
Exactly. Hookers, blow, and fancy cars aren't that expensive. But something happens when you realize it - you start thinking, "If sex and mindstates are this easy to bend with money, what about the rest of the world?" Cue the evils of capitalism.
posted by saysthis at 5:47 PM on May 7, 2018 [8 favorites]
Ah, thanks, I can see why it would be that way. And how it means that any given ATM could easily be seriously out of date for any number of reasons. Thanks for that, that's good to know.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 5:47 PM on May 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 5:47 PM on May 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
When the ATMs were being rolled out, I over drafted by about $40. I'd just walked off a plane in Vancouver from Toronto, and the balance available didn’t reflect what I'd withdrawn before the flight. I was pretty much broke and let myself believe that maybe the gods had taken pity. I remember getting a letter from the bank with a warning that if anything like that ever happened again, I'd be charged with fraud.
posted by bonobothegreat at 5:49 PM on May 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by bonobothegreat at 5:49 PM on May 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
Is this the same kid who had a rowdy party and then was rude on TV about it or do all Australian men under 30 look and dress exactly the same?
No, just the bogans.
I kind of grudgingly admire him, but yeah, it really sucks that he didn't do anything to help anyone else. Well, apart from the strippers wanting $600 tattoos and so forth.
As for those expressing disbelief that the Legal Admissions Board wouldn't accept Milky as a lawyer due to his behaviour - surely he's given a sufficient demonstration that he has lawyer behaviour down pat? I mean, he obviously can't be a really top-notch lawyer because he got caught in the first place, but arguing your way out of a prison sentence has got to count for something, as well as all that experience with luxury cars, cocaine and strippers.
posted by Athanassiel at 6:08 PM on May 7, 2018 [7 favorites]
No, just the bogans.
I kind of grudgingly admire him, but yeah, it really sucks that he didn't do anything to help anyone else. Well, apart from the strippers wanting $600 tattoos and so forth.
As for those expressing disbelief that the Legal Admissions Board wouldn't accept Milky as a lawyer due to his behaviour - surely he's given a sufficient demonstration that he has lawyer behaviour down pat? I mean, he obviously can't be a really top-notch lawyer because he got caught in the first place, but arguing your way out of a prison sentence has got to count for something, as well as all that experience with luxury cars, cocaine and strippers.
posted by Athanassiel at 6:08 PM on May 7, 2018 [7 favorites]
Reading through this thread, I think I'm seeing one reason why Sears went bankrupt.
posted by good in a vacuum at 6:23 PM on May 7, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by good in a vacuum at 6:23 PM on May 7, 2018 [5 favorites]
Yeesh, I remember when a snowstorm killed a bunch of banks and transmission lines when I was in college, I overdrafted by believing the ATM balance (NEVER BELIEVE THE ATM BALANCE) and that banker lady YELLED AT ME ...
See this is weird. Banks love it now when you go into overdraft. It means they get to charge you, like a $80 overdraft service fee plus $75 processing fee for overdrawing by $5.
posted by Jimbob at 6:29 PM on May 7, 2018 [6 favorites]
See this is weird. Banks love it now when you go into overdraft. It means they get to charge you, like a $80 overdraft service fee plus $75 processing fee for overdrawing by $5.
posted by Jimbob at 6:29 PM on May 7, 2018 [6 favorites]
I hope he checked in with whatever Australia's equivalent of the bar association's character and fitness committee is before he decided to spring for law school. Because even without a criminal conviction, I have a feeling they might not love admitting this guy to the bar.
Seems like figuring out how to legally get free money from a bank would make you King of the Lawyers.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 7:02 PM on May 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
Seems like figuring out how to legally get free money from a bank would make you King of the Lawyers.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 7:02 PM on May 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
"Slapping the Pokie". That's what I learned from this article.
I'm Australian and have literally never head that expression. I mean it's certainly what happens, I've just never heard it articulated in that manner. It's just "playing the pokies".
posted by turbid dahlia at 7:16 PM on May 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
I'm Australian and have literally never head that expression. I mean it's certainly what happens, I've just never heard it articulated in that manner. It's just "playing the pokies".
posted by turbid dahlia at 7:16 PM on May 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
I can barely contain my rage. This guy is a con man, plain and simple, and there is nothing admirable about that in any way, shape, or form. Gross.
posted by sockermom at 7:18 PM on May 7, 2018
posted by sockermom at 7:18 PM on May 7, 2018
I think the point here is that such things are relative ... and the Aussie banks have behaved so poorly recently that he's likely a saint in comparison .... anyone sticking it to the banks and getting away with it is now a bit of a folk hero
posted by mbo at 7:20 PM on May 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by mbo at 7:20 PM on May 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
"Slapping the Pokie". That's what I learned from this article.
I'm Australian and have literally never head that expression. I mean it's certainly what happens, I've just never heard it articulated in that manner. It's just "playing the pokies".
I read this thread before reading the article, and it is hard to express my surprise that "slapping the pokie" is not actually something that happens in the champagne room at the strip club.
posted by Dip Flash at 7:36 PM on May 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
I'm Australian and have literally never head that expression. I mean it's certainly what happens, I've just never heard it articulated in that manner. It's just "playing the pokies".
I read this thread before reading the article, and it is hard to express my surprise that "slapping the pokie" is not actually something that happens in the champagne room at the strip club.
posted by Dip Flash at 7:36 PM on May 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
Seems like figuring out how to legally get free money from a bank would make you King of the Lawyers.
Who exactly do you think pays lawyers $800 an hour? Lawyers as a profession have no interest in pissing off banks. Banks are the golden goose.
posted by jacquilynne at 7:37 PM on May 7, 2018
Who exactly do you think pays lawyers $800 an hour? Lawyers as a profession have no interest in pissing off banks. Banks are the golden goose.
posted by jacquilynne at 7:37 PM on May 7, 2018
Years ago my dad bought a refrigerator for like $800 and paid for it with a check and then a couple months later I overheard him complaining to my stepmother that that goddamned check hadn’t cleared yet and it was screwing up his checkbook.
This went on for months until he finally called the bank who told him to call the Sears and they told him they didn’t have any record of that transaction whatsoever.
“Well now what am I supposed to do?” he said.
“Enjoy your free refrigerator.”
I'm probably not the only on who wishes s/he could go through a similar situation with (and hear similar words) from her/his landlord....
posted by gtrwolf at 7:47 PM on May 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
This went on for months until he finally called the bank who told him to call the Sears and they told him they didn’t have any record of that transaction whatsoever.
“Well now what am I supposed to do?” he said.
“Enjoy your free refrigerator.”
I'm probably not the only on who wishes s/he could go through a similar situation with (and hear similar words) from her/his landlord....
posted by gtrwolf at 7:47 PM on May 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
Apparently there was once an IT contractor who worked for UK bank on a large transformation project who emigrated to Australia for a few years. Upon returning for a visit, he noticed that the bank had actually been paying him in what he thought was his dormant UK account the whole time he was away. The contractor reached out to his ex-manager directly, who upon looking into the error determined that stopping the payments at this stage would have, apparently, caused them both more trouble than letting it continue until the end of the project.
posted by Damienmce at 7:50 PM on May 7, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Damienmce at 7:50 PM on May 7, 2018 [3 favorites]
(It should be noted this bank eventually failed so hard it had to be taken over by the government.)
posted by Damienmce at 7:51 PM on May 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Damienmce at 7:51 PM on May 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
The requisite old saw goes something like: Ask permission and they'll say no. Go ahead and do it, and you can apologize later.
I'm a person who once (had a partner who completely) screwed up the banking account ... and was asked to bring the used checks (back when they sent them to you by mail) back to the bank. Then used checks were 'lost' and the bank employee helped HIMself to a chunk of the (by now completely confused) funds. HE got caught.
And so I say: tough shit.
This guy is a con man, plain and simple
Try reading about the recent history of banking. Then look back a few hundred years. There's a con afoot alright.
posted by Twang at 8:22 PM on May 7, 2018 [3 favorites]
I'm a person who once (had a partner who completely) screwed up the banking account ... and was asked to bring the used checks (back when they sent them to you by mail) back to the bank. Then used checks were 'lost' and the bank employee helped HIMself to a chunk of the (by now completely confused) funds. HE got caught.
And so I say: tough shit.
This guy is a con man, plain and simple
Try reading about the recent history of banking. Then look back a few hundred years. There's a con afoot alright.
posted by Twang at 8:22 PM on May 7, 2018 [3 favorites]
If he'd invested any significant portion of the money, the bank would probably have found a way to take it.
Totally. If this had been me I would have figured out how to extract it all and convert it into something anonymous and portable... like I don't know, maybe bearer bonds? An account in the Caymans? Whatever... but with that kind of money it would be buh-bye native land, and off to a comfortable expat exile forever. Parents would have plausible deniability, they don't know where you are either... get hooked up with a passport of convenience, and fuck all y'all!
posted by Meatbomb at 9:09 PM on May 7, 2018 [3 favorites]
Totally. If this had been me I would have figured out how to extract it all and convert it into something anonymous and portable... like I don't know, maybe bearer bonds? An account in the Caymans? Whatever... but with that kind of money it would be buh-bye native land, and off to a comfortable expat exile forever. Parents would have plausible deniability, they don't know where you are either... get hooked up with a passport of convenience, and fuck all y'all!
posted by Meatbomb at 9:09 PM on May 7, 2018 [3 favorites]
I have lived in Australia for 20 years, an hour away from Goulburn, and have never heard a single person say this even once.
I grew up in Goulburn and have never heard this expression. Nor calling the Big Merino 'Rambo'.
The only other notable things about Goulburn to an international audience is that it's where one of Australia's highest security jails are, as well as what was once, and might still be, the most profitable McDonald's franchise in the southern hemisphere.
The only other notable thing about the place, to me, is that the first time I went back after moving away, a cafe had opened up where a Builders & Graziers bank had been, and Fabio was having a coffee outside.
posted by Merus at 9:14 PM on May 7, 2018 [9 favorites]
I grew up in Goulburn and have never heard this expression. Nor calling the Big Merino 'Rambo'.
The only other notable things about Goulburn to an international audience is that it's where one of Australia's highest security jails are, as well as what was once, and might still be, the most profitable McDonald's franchise in the southern hemisphere.
The only other notable thing about the place, to me, is that the first time I went back after moving away, a cafe had opened up where a Builders & Graziers bank had been, and Fabio was having a coffee outside.
posted by Merus at 9:14 PM on May 7, 2018 [9 favorites]
> Lanark:
"If he'd invested any significant portion of the money, the bank would probably have found a way to take it.
Thats the point where you claim to have spent it all on hookers and blow."
And big ticket hotel rooms and food and booze.
posted by Samizdata at 9:22 PM on May 7, 2018
"If he'd invested any significant portion of the money, the bank would probably have found a way to take it.
Thats the point where you claim to have spent it all on hookers and blow."
And big ticket hotel rooms and food and booze.
posted by Samizdata at 9:22 PM on May 7, 2018
> Dip Flash:
""Slapping the Pokie". That's what I learned from this article.
I'm Australian and have literally never head that expression. I mean it's certainly what happens, I've just never heard it articulated in that manner. It's just "playing the pokies".
I read this thread before reading the article, and it is hard to express my surprise that "slapping the pokie" is not actually something that happens in the champagne room at the strip club."
Or my place on another lonely Saturday night.
posted by Samizdata at 9:38 PM on May 7, 2018
""Slapping the Pokie". That's what I learned from this article.
I'm Australian and have literally never head that expression. I mean it's certainly what happens, I've just never heard it articulated in that manner. It's just "playing the pokies".
I read this thread before reading the article, and it is hard to express my surprise that "slapping the pokie" is not actually something that happens in the champagne room at the strip club."
Or my place on another lonely Saturday night.
posted by Samizdata at 9:38 PM on May 7, 2018
If this had been me I would have figured out how to extract it all and convert it into something anonymous and portable... like I don't know, maybe bearer bonds? An account in the Caymans? Whatever... but with that kind of money it would be buh-bye native land, and off to a comfortable expat exile forever.
I know; one of the things that kept going through my head was that this guy grew up economically comfortable and secure, as well as generally healthy. Even at his age, it never would have occurred to me to not think of the future and make sure I wouldn't be poor again, because I know how being poor feels. It would have taken just a small fraction of the amount he got to get my teeth completely fixed, for Pete’s sake.
I'm not saying antique cars and Hefty bags of blow aren't fun, but surely there are cheaper and better places to get them and stay out of the bank’s way.
Not very articulate, I know. Sleeping pill's starting to kick in.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 10:35 PM on May 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
I know; one of the things that kept going through my head was that this guy grew up economically comfortable and secure, as well as generally healthy. Even at his age, it never would have occurred to me to not think of the future and make sure I wouldn't be poor again, because I know how being poor feels. It would have taken just a small fraction of the amount he got to get my teeth completely fixed, for Pete’s sake.
I'm not saying antique cars and Hefty bags of blow aren't fun, but surely there are cheaper and better places to get them and stay out of the bank’s way.
Not very articulate, I know. Sleeping pill's starting to kick in.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 10:35 PM on May 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
I have worked for banks. Amongst other regular mandatory training you receive is a course on fraud (spoiler alert: banks are against it when it is being done to them). However, in the course of being taught about fraud and why one should not engage in it, the course really hammers home the following points:
Anyway, fuck this guy. He may not have broken the law, and that being the case I’m glad he’s not in jail. But he knew the money wasn’t his. He is, as his mum succinctly put it, dishonest. And he fucking knew he was being dishonest, because that’s why he fucked off to Thailand instead of contacting bank security when told to. I wouldn’t want him in any kind of position of trust in the future.
posted by um at 11:24 PM on May 7, 2018 [7 favorites]
- Most fraud goes undetected
- Even when detected, most times the money is not returned
- Banks frequently do not press charges, particularly when very large amounts are stolen
- Most fraud goes unreported, because banks find it embarrassing to admit to
Anyway, fuck this guy. He may not have broken the law, and that being the case I’m glad he’s not in jail. But he knew the money wasn’t his. He is, as his mum succinctly put it, dishonest. And he fucking knew he was being dishonest, because that’s why he fucked off to Thailand instead of contacting bank security when told to. I wouldn’t want him in any kind of position of trust in the future.
posted by um at 11:24 PM on May 7, 2018 [7 favorites]
With his morality, I think he'd do pretty well in middle to upper management at a bank.
posted by codacorolla at 11:57 PM on May 7, 2018
posted by codacorolla at 11:57 PM on May 7, 2018
No, he wouldn’t make it through the background check. I know banks are an easy target and I’m firmly in favour of bank misconduct being identified and prosecuted, but the vast majority of people who work at banks have regular boring roles the end result of which is a lot of tangible benefits for societies. Except the traders. Fuck the traders, those guys are all monsters.
posted by um at 12:03 AM on May 8, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by um at 12:03 AM on May 8, 2018 [3 favorites]
I sold an artists book to [redacted] public library’s collection back in the early 2000s. Because of their ties to the city in question this meant adding me as a contractor with the city, and all this really meant for me was a little more delay in getting paid. I was a little surprised then, when I got a check for £30000-odd in the post a few months later. I was terrified and told them at once, whereupon they [the city not the library] got rather defensive and wouldn’t even pay for a stamp for me to send them the check back. The 26p for the stamp is what rankles now.
posted by aesop at 12:12 AM on May 8, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by aesop at 12:12 AM on May 8, 2018 [5 favorites]
No, he wouldn’t make it through the background check.
You're probably right, the background check is the thing that would stop him. Great candidate, otherwise.
posted by codacorolla at 12:21 AM on May 8, 2018
You're probably right, the background check is the thing that would stop him. Great candidate, otherwise.
posted by codacorolla at 12:21 AM on May 8, 2018
You're probably right, the background check is the thing that would stop him. Great candidate, otherwise.
You mean unqualified, selfish, short sighted and prone to spending other people’s money on intoxicants? Actually not inaccurate for bank execs, in my experience.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 12:44 AM on May 8, 2018
You mean unqualified, selfish, short sighted and prone to spending other people’s money on intoxicants? Actually not inaccurate for bank execs, in my experience.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 12:44 AM on May 8, 2018
There was a guy here in Melbourne back in the late 80s / early 90s who figured out how to get "free" money from ATMs. I presume nowadays ATMs use mobile data to communicate, but back then they relied on the wired phone network and would fall back to allowing each card one transaction if the network was down. Anyway, I presume he would set up multiple accounts for each run, because IIRC his modus operandi required cutting into armored cables with an angle grinder, and the daily limits were only $200 back then. Cut into cables, withdraw cash, lather, rinse, repeat. It sounded like a lot of work for something that inevitably led to prison.
posted by Joe in Australia at 3:35 AM on May 8, 2018
posted by Joe in Australia at 3:35 AM on May 8, 2018
Date: 1996. A week earlier I’d gotten busted for possession in college and was poor and broke and without any help. I was freaking out and didn’t know what to do. Then I went to the ATM one morning and saw 200 thousand dollars in my balance where there should have been about 50 dollars.
I stood at the ATM for a serious second considering going into the bank, withdrawing all the money and skipping the country to go live in Belize.
But my southern Protestant upbringing got the better of me so I went into the bank and instead told the teller there had been a mistake.
It was a small town bank in Denton. The teller knew who’s 20 grand it was, and that they would have figured it out eventually and thanked me for my honesty.
Y’all I dressed like what I was: an acidhead pot smoker in a local indie rock band. I was almost certain she knew I spent a moment or two contemplating a “different outcome”.
A few months later I ended up going to jail for a spell. (Sentenced to 90 days, released after 16)
The moral I have learned: if your ATM shows a bunch of money in it you didn’t expect, enjoy it first because you’re likely going to jail anyway.
posted by Annika Cicada at 5:12 AM on May 8, 2018 [15 favorites]
I stood at the ATM for a serious second considering going into the bank, withdrawing all the money and skipping the country to go live in Belize.
But my southern Protestant upbringing got the better of me so I went into the bank and instead told the teller there had been a mistake.
It was a small town bank in Denton. The teller knew who’s 20 grand it was, and that they would have figured it out eventually and thanked me for my honesty.
Y’all I dressed like what I was: an acidhead pot smoker in a local indie rock band. I was almost certain she knew I spent a moment or two contemplating a “different outcome”.
A few months later I ended up going to jail for a spell. (Sentenced to 90 days, released after 16)
The moral I have learned: if your ATM shows a bunch of money in it you didn’t expect, enjoy it first because you’re likely going to jail anyway.
posted by Annika Cicada at 5:12 AM on May 8, 2018 [15 favorites]
The other thing I’ll mention is that banks are very keen to make sure that all their journals and ledgers reconcile so mistakes like this are detected swiftly. However because banks deal in epic amounts of money it’s not cost-effective for their army of accountants to mobilise in pursuit of every little discrepancy. So, each bank sets a threshold, below which they’ll ignore funny results. That threshold might be anywhere from $20k to $100k. The bank in this case fucked up by auto-approving the overdrafts but their internal controls picked it up eventually.
Not exactly a bank, but I used to reconcile futures trading for a large brokerage back in the '80s. There was no lower limit where we could write off a sum that couldn't be reconciled. So these piddling amounts that nobody could track down stayed on the books day after day (with a note explaining why they were being carried over). I became obsessed with clearing them and went through years of microfiche until I tracked down a few, but not all of them. For all I know they're still on the books.
posted by lagomorphius at 6:49 AM on May 8, 2018
Not exactly a bank, but I used to reconcile futures trading for a large brokerage back in the '80s. There was no lower limit where we could write off a sum that couldn't be reconciled. So these piddling amounts that nobody could track down stayed on the books day after day (with a note explaining why they were being carried over). I became obsessed with clearing them and went through years of microfiche until I tracked down a few, but not all of them. For all I know they're still on the books.
posted by lagomorphius at 6:49 AM on May 8, 2018
There was a period of about 10 months a few years back where my debit card had expired, but Netflix didn't notice and my service continued without a problem. When they eventually did notice, all I got was an alert telling me to update my card, no emails looking for the missed payments or anything. Sometimes I wonder if that was on netflix's end or my credit union, and for the latter, where the money netflix was getting was coming from. I never thought to try it elsewhere, perhaps I just had a magical card drawing from nowhere.
posted by neonrev at 6:56 AM on May 8, 2018
posted by neonrev at 6:56 AM on May 8, 2018
This happened to one of my coworkers, some years ago. Y'know how you have to write the amount on the check, twice? Once in the box on the right and once on the long line? He was writing a check for his rent and he managed to accidentally transpose the numbers. $560 in one spot and $650 in the other spot.
I had always assumed they checked both spots to make sure they matched, as a way to be sure a check hasn't been altered. But, no. The apartment manager credited him $650, while the bank pulled $560 from his account, and he discovered it while balancing his checkbook.
Being a super cautious kind of guy, he called both the apartment manager and the bank, and had long discussions. Both refused to do anything about it. I don't think he ever managed to give anyone that $90. And he never found out who got shorted.
posted by elizilla at 7:07 AM on May 8, 2018 [2 favorites]
I had always assumed they checked both spots to make sure they matched, as a way to be sure a check hasn't been altered. But, no. The apartment manager credited him $650, while the bank pulled $560 from his account, and he discovered it while balancing his checkbook.
Being a super cautious kind of guy, he called both the apartment manager and the bank, and had long discussions. Both refused to do anything about it. I don't think he ever managed to give anyone that $90. And he never found out who got shorted.
posted by elizilla at 7:07 AM on May 8, 2018 [2 favorites]
I had always assumed they checked both spots to make sure they matched, as a way to be sure a check hasn't been altered. But, no. The apartment manager credited him $650, while the bank pulled $560 from his account, and he discovered it while balancing his checkbook.
IIRC, the handwritten text amount is the official one. The numerical one is for convenience.
posted by mikelieman at 7:40 AM on May 8, 2018
IIRC, the handwritten text amount is the official one. The numerical one is for convenience.
posted by mikelieman at 7:40 AM on May 8, 2018
Continuing the bookkeeping derail, IN THEORY, the apartment's bookkeeper couldn't reconcile their books to the bank's statement. IN THEORY. They would actually have to (1) check and/or (2) give a shit, depending on their financial goals ( e.g.: Money laundering through the coin-op washers could make 90 bucks in rent not worth reconciling. )
posted by mikelieman at 7:43 AM on May 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by mikelieman at 7:43 AM on May 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
the Aussie banks have behaved so poorly recently that he's likely a saint in comparison
I was particularly impressed by the recent news that the Commonwealth Bank had lost track of a couple of backup tapes containing millions of customer account statements.
posted by flabdablet at 8:14 AM on May 8, 2018
I was particularly impressed by the recent news that the Commonwealth Bank had lost track of a couple of backup tapes containing millions of customer account statements.
posted by flabdablet at 8:14 AM on May 8, 2018
mikelieman, my coworker lived in an enormous apartment complex with hundreds of units, on a road that had about six such complexes, most of which were managed by the same company. So yeah I am sure it was a drop in the bucket to them, and that they had plenty of coin-op laundry money floating around.
posted by elizilla at 8:21 AM on May 8, 2018
posted by elizilla at 8:21 AM on May 8, 2018
Here's another excellent story of an Aussie taking advantage of a banking system error. This guy had a credit card that let him to cash advances from the card to his savings account without them showing up on the credit card.
Much like Milky, he spent it all on booze, gambling and prostitutes, haha. Ended up spending over $1.5m.
posted by decryption at 8:52 AM on May 8, 2018
Much like Milky, he spent it all on booze, gambling and prostitutes, haha. Ended up spending over $1.5m.
posted by decryption at 8:52 AM on May 8, 2018
Not to be a Total Downer, but...I only made it to the point where he bought a Maserati. I grew up in poverty. I still live in poverty, with my sisters. My oldest sister is a single mom of 2 kids, one was just (thankfully) officially diagnosed as special needs. None of us have done any more schooling than some community college. I'd recently (in the last 5 years) been accepted into a very good university, but that kind of thing is impossible when you have no support network. All of my extra time and energy has been dedicated to getting her away from her abusive kids' father, and now that they're separated it goes to making sure she can keep it that way.
I daydream about this kind of scenario, and winning that lottery, like... a lot. My first plan is always to take my sisters out to dinner, and buy them a car. No one has had a car in my family for years. Next would be to pay off debt, including the only credit card debt i have from paying medical bills after I was assaulted. Then I'd go to school. Get a degree, and live a normal middle class life. Pipe dreams: take the family on our first ever vacation. Get the youngest a full-time aide so he doesn't have to repeat this grade again. Get the $5-6 thousand i need in dental work after a lifetime of poverty and undernourishment. Pay for my friends' gender confirmation surgeries.
Reading the amount I did just infuriated me. He ruined his parent's lives. But also, just, it isn't fair. Not saying anyone deserves free money (actually I do say that), but this guy especially doesn't deserve this
posted by FirstMateKate at 9:08 AM on May 8, 2018 [11 favorites]
I daydream about this kind of scenario, and winning that lottery, like... a lot. My first plan is always to take my sisters out to dinner, and buy them a car. No one has had a car in my family for years. Next would be to pay off debt, including the only credit card debt i have from paying medical bills after I was assaulted. Then I'd go to school. Get a degree, and live a normal middle class life. Pipe dreams: take the family on our first ever vacation. Get the youngest a full-time aide so he doesn't have to repeat this grade again. Get the $5-6 thousand i need in dental work after a lifetime of poverty and undernourishment. Pay for my friends' gender confirmation surgeries.
Reading the amount I did just infuriated me. He ruined his parent's lives. But also, just, it isn't fair. Not saying anyone deserves free money (actually I do say that), but this guy especially doesn't deserve this
posted by FirstMateKate at 9:08 AM on May 8, 2018 [11 favorites]
The finding: Immoral but not criminal.
He'll make a perfect lawyer.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 10:33 AM on May 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
He'll make a perfect lawyer.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 10:33 AM on May 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
He seemed to be actually a very admirable guy before all this happened.
posted by serena15221 at 10:38 AM on May 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by serena15221 at 10:38 AM on May 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
Here's another excellent story of an Aussie taking advantage of a banking system error.
That's the same guy as the OP.
posted by Lanark at 12:12 PM on May 8, 2018
That's the same guy as the OP.
posted by Lanark at 12:12 PM on May 8, 2018
It's normally "going for a slap" or "having a slap" but I guess if you've never heard the term you don't have enough degenerate gambler bogan friends.
posted by onya at 12:51 PM on May 8, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by onya at 12:51 PM on May 8, 2018 [2 favorites]
That's the same guy as the OP.
Then where are the party sunglasses on the second guy, Mr Cleversocks?
posted by flabdablet at 9:47 PM on May 8, 2018
Then where are the party sunglasses on the second guy, Mr Cleversocks?
posted by flabdablet at 9:47 PM on May 8, 2018
He seemed to be actually a very admirable guy before all this happened.
Well, he seems to have been motivated by a desire for wealth, and to have managed to make a fair amount of money at a young age. I'm not sure what that tells you about his morality. If he'd been doing lots of work for charity or his community, I'd call him admirable, but there's nothing especially noble about making money because you want money for yourself.
posted by howfar at 10:59 AM on May 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
Well, he seems to have been motivated by a desire for wealth, and to have managed to make a fair amount of money at a young age. I'm not sure what that tells you about his morality. If he'd been doing lots of work for charity or his community, I'd call him admirable, but there's nothing especially noble about making money because you want money for yourself.
posted by howfar at 10:59 AM on May 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
Yes. I called him a con man because he stole from the rich and gave to himself. If he had stolen from the rich and given to the poor, I would call him a hero. But what he did is not admirable, and was not the work of an admirable person.
posted by sockermom at 11:23 AM on May 9, 2018
posted by sockermom at 11:23 AM on May 9, 2018
If he had stolen from the rich and given to the poor, I would call him a hero.
Does he get no brownie points at all for stealing from a bank and giving away large portions of the haul to every random "friend" he happened to encounter, all of whom would also have been very poor relative to the bank? Or does the fact that these particular gift recipients also spent their gifts on frivolous luxuries mark them as members of the Undeserving Poor?
posted by flabdablet at 9:59 PM on May 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
Does he get no brownie points at all for stealing from a bank and giving away large portions of the haul to every random "friend" he happened to encounter, all of whom would also have been very poor relative to the bank? Or does the fact that these particular gift recipients also spent their gifts on frivolous luxuries mark them as members of the Undeserving Poor?
posted by flabdablet at 9:59 PM on May 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
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