'Glitch' Allows Customers to Withdraw Millions They Don't Have

Commercial Bank of Ethiopia is trying to recoup the money
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 19, 2024 3:15 AM CDT
Customers Withdraw Millions They Don't Have After ATM 'Glitch'
Stock photo.   (Getty Images / johan10)

A "systems glitch" that persisted for hours on Saturday allowed customers of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia to withdraw more money than they had in their accounts, the bank says. By the time the bank was able to freeze transactions, more than $40 million had been withdrawn or transferred to other banks, the BBC reports. Officials say students first discovered the glitch and then word of it spread through universities via messaging apps and phone calls, with long lines forming at campus ATMs. On at least one campus, police arrived to halt withdrawals. The bank is working to recoup the money, and the bank president says anyone who returns it will not be charged with a crime. (More strange stuff stories.)

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