Poll: You come across a broken ATM...

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soren7550

Overly Proud New Yorker
Dec 18, 2008
5,477
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Fuck yeah I'd take it. I've been very unemployed for some time, and I need to get necessities, pay bills, and every once and again I'd like to get a little something for myself. Such as some underwear, or a dresser so that my clothes aren't in a bag/boxes/wherever anymore.

The only bad thing that would happen is that I'd be paranoid about being arrested.
 

Abomination

New member
Dec 17, 2012
2,939
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I'm not on any criminal databases and my picture on my passport looks a lot different than I do now so I doubt they could identify me... yeah I'd take the money and run.

I wouldn't be liable for the bank's glitch emptying someone else's account, the bank would have to reimburse that individual if that was the case.

Essentially, fuck most banks.
 

Hawk eye1466

New member
May 31, 2010
619
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Well 200,000 is more money than I had before I stood in line so yeah I'd take it, besides banks are assholes with a lot of stuff so they can afford to take a loss this one time.
 

Clive Howlitzer

New member
Jan 27, 2011
2,783
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No, and it has very little to do with the moral reasoning. It is stealing, the money is not yours. If it is ever tracked back to you that the money was withdrawn and you didn't return it, you would be charged over it. The camera being broken is not even close to enough of a reason to think you'd get away with it. Especially since you used your card on that ATM at that moment.
Trust me, it would come around and bite you in the ass. We get it a lot at the department I work at. People get money that isn't theirs by mistake and spend it all, thinking they are fine. They get caught, and they get charged.
 

Sudden Thunder

New member
Jan 12, 2013
10
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I had a friend come across a situation like this. Went to an ATM late at night on a quiet street and found $200 sitting in the slot. He didn't hesitate to take it and head straight home. As for me, yeah I would take it, sure beats someone else taking it. If it keeps spitting out money that's a bank glitch and I'm sure they are insured.
 

Yopaz

Sarcastic overlord
Jun 3, 2009
6,092
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This is a tough one, but even as poor as I am I think I don't think I would have taken it.

I know that every ATM got a camera so huge amounts would be registered so I might have turned it in and reported the problem if it was a lot in fear of discovery. I am honestly not certain what I would do in this situation. I am a honest person and I don't have the evil corporations deserve to be stolen from attitude.
If it was a small amount I think I might have kept it.
 

rednose1

New member
Oct 11, 2009
346
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Yep, without a second thought. Banks aren't worth wasting a morality debate on, seeing as they aren't people. They are soulless creations designed to make money, and nothing else. They've gotten to the point were they are untouchable legally (HSBC being the newest one to take the limelight).
 

Jfswift

Hmm.. what's this button do?
Nov 2, 2009
2,396
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I had a coin machine at an arcade chug out about 10-20 dollars. I waited for a good five minutes and no one said anything or claimed it, at which point I proceeded to play games for an hour. If an atm did that I'd probably take the cash unless it was like, a ridiculous amount. I'd probably turn it back in at that point. That reminded me of this actually, a few years ago some lady walked off, leaving her card in the atm, still in the menu. I did the right thing and closed it out and gave her card back. My reward was an angry glare. :p
 

loudmadman

New member
Nov 22, 2011
77
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I personally couldn't do take the money, as much as I would like to. I would do the right thing and hand it over to the authorities. Who knows? With a LOT of luck, I could get some kind of a reward (You know, aside from the satisfaction of doing the right thing or something along those lines).
 

FavouriteDream

New member
Feb 1, 2013
53
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It depends how much money came out. If it was a small amount (as in under several hundred) I'd probably take it I guess. If it was a lot, there is no way in hell I'd risk my freedom taking that. You'd be done for stealing and you'd get caught eventually I think. Even if that camera over the ATM is broken, you would have been picked up further along the street outside a shop or something so they'd have a fair idea you were a suspect. Fuck that. Prison isn't for me.

Now if I had excessive debt or was in a lot of financial stress? Different story.
 

purf

New member
Nov 29, 2010
600
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Okay, with the given scenario as it would really turn out (and keeping in mind what a lot of you seem to miss: Your card, anyone's card is NOT involved), here's what I'd do:

Because the ATM, broken/hacked as it might be, will simply not spill out all its money like I hit the jackpot on a slot machine, but will in any case do so in small batches of what it can handle at most (maybe 1000 ?/$/£), I will take... two of those, maybe three but then walk away.
 

Auron225

New member
Oct 26, 2009
1,790
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How would I know at the time it wasn't coming out of someone's account? o.0

If I did know that for sure, then I would take it and donate most of it to charity so at least some good is coming out of it. But it has happened before that people have tried to lift money, it gave them their card but said "error" and didn't give them anything, then 30 seconds later dispensed it (after the person already left). It happened to my mum once - luckily the guy behind her was awesome enough to chase after her and give it to her. I think it was over £100.
 

Aeshi

New member
Dec 22, 2009
2,640
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If I could 100% guarantee that I'd get away with it? Yes

When Fate hands you a card that good, it would be a bigger crime NOT to take/use it.
 

micahrp

New member
Nov 5, 2011
46
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tippy2k2 said:
This is only the passive question, go for the active question!

Such as, "You find a wallet full of credit cards and you know the local appliance/electronics/grocery store has no cameras and the clerks don't try to verify card ownership. Do you go on an spending spree till the cards are rejected?"

If the answer to the active question and the passive question are not the same then you have the reflection of how principled people here are.

As for myself: no, no and no. That which is not truly offered to you by the owner has to be returned. I have returned every wallet I have found and give back incorrect change from clerk (terrible math skills in America!). I worked as a clerk in a drug store in a bad neighborhood for many years and stopped many fraudulant credit card transaction attempts when it would have been easy to ignore the signs of wrong doing as all of my coworkers did.

My greater principle that leads me to this is Universalism. What if every ATM does this to every person that uses them and the banks cannot detect how their money is disappearing? They are companies and they will start retaliating against those they DO have power over.

I believe this is why credit card interest rates are so high for many, especially new users. Too many people have NEVER paid their credit cards off . I had an unmarried family member die off with over $70,000 in credit card debt that was never paid off (they had no assests, the family paid for the funeral). The credit card companies are companies that make money and lost money must be recoupt some other way so they raise interest rates to balance the books.
 

Angie7F

WiseGurl
Nov 11, 2011
1,704
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Absolutely take the money.

But that would be after checking that there are no cameras etc.
 

NearLifeExperience

New member
Oct 21, 2012
281
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Yes I would. Getting by is hard enough without a lucky jackpot like that.

I also believe that anyone who says they wouldn't take the money because it's wrong, is LYING.