If Wells Fargo Accidentally Credits $69K To Your Account, You Probably Shouldn't Spend It

The other day we asked you how you’d respond to stumbling upon $1,800 in cash left behind at an ATM by another bank customer. But what if that money — or, say, 38 times that amount of money — suddenly popped up in your bank account through no fault of your own?

As tempting as it may be to cash out and run off with the money, we’d have to advise against the idea. See, while banks may be completely inept when it comes to sorting out your mortgage, they tend to be pretty adept at locating funds they misplaced.

This is the lesson being learned the hard way by a 22-year-old Wells Fargo customer in Pennsylvania, whose checking account magically jumped from a balance of $40 to just north of $69,000.

“There was a sense of wow…just look at it for a while,” the man tells KYW-TV in Philadelphia.

But instead of alerting the bank — or even just playing wait-and-see — the man took a trip to Orlando, bought furniture, a dog, a used Pontiac and helped some cash-strappe family members pay their bills.

“I knew it was going to catch up to me… just didn’t know it was going to be this bad,” says the man, who turned himself in earlier this week and faces two felony charges — theft of property lost and receiving stolen property.

The man says he’s looking for a job so he can repay the money.

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.