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In 2011, Dan Saunders, an Australian man from Wangaratta found a loophole with National Australia Bank (NAB) ATMs where he could deposit an unlimited amount of Australian dollars from the machines. This would last for four and half months and he would produce AU$1.6 million, before Saunders outed himself on A Current Affair.
Background
editNAB is one of the four largest financial institutions in Australia colloquially referred to as "The Big Four", in terms of market capitalisation, earnings and customers.[1][2]
In 2011, Saunders, a 29-year-old used to work as a bartender in Wangaratta, in Victoria's north-east.[3][4] He also had a girlfriend who was a religion teacher, but she would later left him because of the glitch.[5][3]
Glitch
editSaunders was at the bar at night before needing to get some cash from the ATM machine. When he checked his balance, he saw just 3 dollars in his account, but decided to try and withdraw 100 dollars regardless. Despite an error message, the money was deposited.[5][6][7]
According to Saunders, "I’d been thinking about how odd the whole thing was so I put the card in again and started playing around." He would later figured out that "There was a lag between what the ATM gave me and what my bank balance was, which meant that whatever I spent, I could cover it by doing a simple transfer every night between my credit account and my savings. I could “create” the money by doing a transfer between 1 and 3 in the morning, which is when I realised ATMs go offline."[4][7]
Within weeks, Dan was fired from his work due to gambling and his girlfriend left him.[5] Saunders would start "living the high life" by spend his money on luxury hotels, private jets, high-end restaurants and clothing.[3] and also give money to friends for college tuition.[7][8]
Aftermath
editDue to guilt and anxiety, Saunders would attempt to get media attention to his story to get arrested, this resulted in a video interview on the TV program A Current Affair.[4] In June 2011, Saunders handed himself in to police after fearing he had become an international criminal. In total, he stole 1.6 million dollars, spent a year in prison for obtaining money, did 18 months for community service and was fined 250,000 dollars.[9][5][10] Saunders currently works in the hospitality industry.[7]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Garrido, Francis; Chaudhry, Saqib (5 April 2019). "The world's 100 largest banks". Standard & Poor. Archived from the original on 24 September 2019. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
- ^ "Westpac, CommBank, ANZ and NAB: Are The Big Four Banks Still... Big?". Oiyo. 2020-11-23. Archived from the original on 11 September 2021. Retrieved 2021-09-11.
- ^ a b c "ATM mistake gives man access to millions". NZ Herald. Retrieved 2025-08-25.
- ^ a b c Dutton, Jack (2020-04-08). "This Australian Bartender Found an ATM Glitch and Blew $1.6 Million". VICE. Retrieved 2025-08-25.
- ^ a b c d O'Leary, Abigail (2018-12-17). "Man who got £1m in cash-point glitch spent it in 4 months on playboy lifestyle". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 2025-08-25.
- ^ The, Australian. "The real story behind Dan Saunders ATM bank card fraud". The Australian.
- ^ a b c d Snouwaert, Jessica. "Australian bartender tells the story of how he once spent $1.6 million in 5 months after discovering an ATM glitch". Business Insider. Retrieved 2025-08-25.
- ^ "Fast money". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2014-08-08. Retrieved 2025-08-26.
- ^ Shand, Adam. "Aussie Dan Saunder's $1.6 million ATM theft". news.com.au.
- ^ Finance, Banking. "Daniel Saunders jailed after spending $1.6 million he obtained through a secret ATM loophole". news.com.au.
Category:2011 in Australia Category:20th-century Australian people