It was 5:30 in the morning and a woman waiting in line for the ATM in South Portland, Maine was cold and getting impatient.
So much cash, so little room in a shopping bag
The man in front of her was taking an unusual amount of time, literally stuffing cash in all available pockets until there was no more room, when he turned to fill a shopping bag with cash.
It turns out police are now investigating an ATM machine gone rogue that was literally spitting out cash.
According to reports on WGME-TV in Portland, Maine, police responded to a woman calling and saying a man was behaving unusually in front of an ATM. When officers arrived they discovered the man had requested $140 from the ATM, but the machine spit out $37,000 from TD Bank’s branch ATM. As responding officers they witnessed the man plowing cash into the shopping bag as fast as it was being spit out from the ATM.
“Code error” cause
While police continue to investigate, the money was returned to the bank and they do not anticipate pressing charges. A bank executive said the problem was a non-descript “code error” and that customer accounts were not impacted by the incident.
The unknown man was not identified because he wasn’t charged. He did walk away from the ATM with his $140 and a story to tell.
As society contemplates computers who operate our stock exchanges and financial infrastructure, and robots play an increasingly important role in society, there is nothing to be alarmed about in an ATM machine spitting out hordes of cash to an early morning bank customers.
