Dan Saunders ATM glitch
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In 2011, Dan Saunders, an Australian man from Wangaratta found a glitch with National Australia Bank (NAB) ATMs where he could withdraw an unlimited amount of Australian dollars from the machines. Over the next four and half months Saunders obtained AU$1.6 million, before he outed himself on A Current Affair.
Background
[edit]NAB 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 his gambling addiction.[5][3]
Glitch
[edit]Saunders 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 Despite an error message, the money was withdrawn.[5][6][7]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
[edit]Due 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
[edit]References
[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.