ATM accidentally dispenses $40,000 to homeless man
SPENCER PLATT/Getty Images
A homeless man thought it was his lucky day when a broken ATM kept dispensing money. Then cops were called to a bank in Portland, Maine, because the man wouldn't leave the machine. Police soon discovered that the malfunctioning machine dispensed nearly $40,000 in cash, which the man was trying to take by stuffing the bills into plastic bags.
The man, who won't be identified unless charges are filed, had only $100 to his name. Police say he was misusing the ATM's "cash advance" button and requested $700 cash advances more than 50 times. The feature is supposed to work when the customer has a pre-approved line of credit, but the homeless man did not. The ATM has since been taken out of service.
What the man was doing is illegal, cops say, but the bank won't press charges because the money was returned.
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Jordan Valinsky is the lead writer for Speed Reads. Before joining The Week, he wrote for New York Observer's tech blog, Betabeat, and tracked the intersection between popular culture and the internet for The Daily Dot. He graduated with a degree in online journalism from Ohio University.
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