Suburban ATM Gave Out Free Cash Until Honest Customer Notified Authorities

By Jim Bochnowski in News on Jun 16, 2015 9:35PM

A rogue ATM in a New Lenox Kmart distributed over $7,600 to unsuspecting customers—until one moral person came forward and ruined it for everyone.

Local police said that a "faulty gear wheel" caused the machine to distribute the extra money to customers, the Chicago Tribune reports. The incident occurred on March 11, but the ATM company did not report the incident to the police until June 9 for unknown reasons.

The police report states that three separate transactions were made at the ATM, which is not under video surveillance. After a fourth withdrawal led to one overly honest customer informing the store of the incident and returning the extra money, the ATM company discovered that the machine was short $7,600.

This is a thing that happens from time to time, but if you find yourself in such a situation, don't take advantage of it. One Michigan resident found out this lesson the hard way. Ronald Page, a retired auto worker, realized that due to a bank error, he was able to withdraw unlimited funds from Detroit-area casino ATMs, according to the Huffington Post. He ended up withdrawing $1.5 million in cash, which he ended up gambling away, and then was found guilty of stealing bank funds and sentenced to 15 months in jail.