How do I keep money that's not mine?

July 23, 2009 7:50 PM

Bank error in your favor -- how do you take the money and run?

Strictly hypothetically speaking, let's say one of these things happened:

1) You find millions of dollars deposited into your bank account by mistake.

2) You find millions of dollars in trash bags on the side of the road.

And let's say you wanted to keepand usethe money. I've always been curious about this: How would a person get away with it?

With the #1 situation above, I guess quickly opening another (foreign? extradition-free country?) bank account, transferring the money, and then moving to that country is the most logical?

#2 seems much trickier. Perhaps sit on the money for awhile (until the drug dealer / whomever gets tired of looking for it?), and then launder it, like at a casino (play a little while, then cash in for clean cash)?

Note that this kind of thing, though rare, really does happen: "[the bank] has been left red-faced over the slip-up that allowed $10 million to be wrongly credited to a Rotorua service station co-owner who had since fled to China."

posted by wastelands to work & money (1 comment total)

Perhaps sit on the money for awhile (until the drug dealer / whomever gets tired of looking for it?)

And just how long would it take you to stop looking for a million dollars.

(No Country For Old Men is playing on Encore this month. Research.)
posted by Bonzai at 7:55 PM on July 23