Man went on a four-month bender discovering ATM glitch that gave him millions in cash
Finding an ATM that will give you millions and not cost you a penny sounds like the ultimate dream right?
And for many of us, we wouldn't hesitate to spend the free cash on shopping, holidays and nights out - which is just what lucky Australian Dan Saunders did. Saunders, whose incredible story is now being made into a film, splashed out on private jets and high-end restaurants after uncovering a hack that gave him access to the seemingly unlimited cash.
In 2011 Saunders checked his bank balance during a night out, and noticed the machine he was trying to use was acting strangely and wouldn't show his balance.
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Saunders later told Vice: "I transferred $200 (£117) from my credit account to my savings, and it said ‘transaction cancelled’ and spat the card out. I thought that was super odd, so I decided to try and get $200 out of my savings account just to see what would happen."
After receiving the $200, the weird glitch in the machine had Saunders thinking and he returned at a later date to see if it was working.
He added: "I'd been thinking about how odd the whole thing was, so I put the card in again and started playing around. I transferred another $200 (£117) and got the money out. Then $500 (£293), then $600 (£351), just to see what would happen."
In a very rare occurrence, Saunders had discovered a glitch as he worked out that the ATM disconnected from the bank and the internet between 1am and 3am. He quickly took advantage of the hack, withdrawing hundreds and then thousands.
"On the first day, I spent $2,000 (£1,170), but on the second day, I transferred $4,000 (£2,341) to make sure my balance didn't stay negative,” he said. “The transfer at night would go through, then reverse one day later. But if you stayed ahead of that reversal by doing another one, you could trick the system into thinking you had millions."
For four months Saunders was able to enjoy the high life, splurging on partying, travel and even using the funds to help pals pay off their student loans. The sneaky millionaire was also able to help homeless people spend nights off the street by paying for hotels for them for a night.
Saunders explained: "If you have imagination and money, you're able to help people live their wildest dreams."
For the poor Aussie though, the dream did eventually come crashing down.
After seeing a psychiatrist for anxiety and guilt as he worried about being caught, Saunders accepted he had to turn himself in to the police – but not before sharing his incredible story on national television.
Saunders was ultimately sentenced to 12 months in jail on theft and fraud charges in 2015, and was released with an 18-month community corrections order.
Doing the right thing and turning himself in appears to have paid off for the Aussie, who initially returned to his job as a barman.
The story is promised to be turned into a film called ATM Boy, and Saunders has also detailed the rare crime in a podcast series titled 'The Glitch'.
Niamh Spence