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TikTok is just one of the many social media platforms littered with dubious financial advice, and Chase Bank was forced to remind some customers who attempted to take advantage of a so-called “money hack” that recently made the rounds that they were literally committing fraud.
One of the most valuable pieces of advice to keep in mind while making your way through life is that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is—especially when it involves strategies you can supposedly harness to make some easy money without having to do any serious work.
That brings us to a number of videos that made the rounds on TikTok over Labor Day weekend involving a so-called “glitch” in the Chase Bank system that made it possible to deposit a check in your account and immediately withdraw the funds before it officially cleared—which meant you could write a check to yourself for a large amount and reap the benefits by taking out the cash.
Now, you may have read that paragraph and found yourself wondering exactly how that glitch would work, as you’d think banks would realize something was amiss after attempting to track down the funds in question only to discover they didn’t actually exist.
Well, that’s exactly what ended up happening, as the “glitch” in question is known as “check kiting,” a practice that has basically been around as long as that particular form of payment has existed and—as a spokesperson for Chase noted in a statement to Fortune—is very much illegal:
“We are aware of this incident, and it has been addressed. Regardless of what you see online, depositing a fraudulent check and withdrawing the funds from your account is fraud, plain and simple.”
Check kiting can be treated as a violation of federal law that can be punished to the tune of up to a $1 million fine and 30 years in prison, and while the crime can also be prosecuted by the state where it occurred instead, you’re still going to be facing a pretty stiff punishment if you’re caught.
I honestly didn’t think people needed to be reminded it’s a bad idea to try to take a bunch of money they don’t have out of the bank, but it would appear that’s not the case.