The 2024 “Chase glitch” was a viral check-deposit scheme, not a legitimate way to get money. People reportedly deposited fraudulent checks and withdrew cash before the checks were returned or cleared. Chase said the incident had been addressed and that knowingly depositing a fraudulent check and withdrawing the funds was “fraud, plain and simple.”
What happened with the Chase glitch?
In late August and early September 2024, posts on TikTok and other social platforms promoted a supposed way to get cash by depositing a check and withdrawing money before the deposit was reversed. The checks were fraudulent; the apparent opportunity depended on the delay before a bank learned that a check would not be paid.
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Chase said it knew about the incident and had addressed it. A bank spokesperson told The Guardian: “Regardless of what you see online, depositing a fraudulent check and withdrawing the funds from your account is fraud, plain and simple.” The Guardian’s September 2024 report also quoted Cornell law professor Dan Awrey calling the practice “check kiting,” a longstanding type of fraud that exploits delays in check settlement.
Social-media clips and claims about the trend do not establish how much money was taken or how many people participated. Initial reporting said the number of people who tried it was unknown.
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Why a deposited check can look like money before it is final
A check deposit can appear available in an account before the payment is finally settled. The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond calls the interval between deposit and settlement the “float.” Availability during that interval is not a guarantee that the check will be paid. If a check is returned unpaid after the depositor has withdrawn the apparent funds, the reversal can leave the account negative.
The Richmond Fed describes the Chase episode as similar to check kiting because both exploit the time between a deposit and settlement. It does not establish that the episode used the same mechanics as every classic check-kiting scheme, and Chase did not publicly explain the technical cause or how customers were able to withdraw seemingly unlimited amounts. The Richmond Fed’s third-quarter 2025 account provides this later context.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What consequences were reported?
September 2024 coverage described account holds and negative balances among people said to have attempted the trend. Fox Business reported on September 5, 2024, that Chase was expected to work with law enforcement; that was a report about what was expected at the time, not evidence that a particular person was charged or convicted. Fox Business’s report covered the early response.
The Richmond Fed later reported that Chase froze many accounts and sued some of the biggest offenders to recover money. It does not provide the outcome of every lawsuit. The available accounts do not establish that every participant was prosecuted, that any particular person was convicted, or what happened in every case.
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Published sources establish Chase’s public position and report account freezes and lawsuits, but do not provide a reliable total for the incident’s participants or Chase’s losses, explain the technical cause, or resolve every legal case. Broader fraud statistics should not be mistaken for figures from this incident.
- The Richmond Fed reported that consumers reported $12.5 billion in fraud losses to the FTC in 2024, 25% more than in 2023. This is a broad consumer-fraud figure, not a Chase-glitch loss estimate.
- The Richmond Fed also reported that the Federal Reserve processed 82% fewer checks annually than it had 30 years earlier, and that check fraud had more than doubled since 2020, citing the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. Neither statistic measures the Chase incident.
For an ordinary check deposit, a processing delay by itself is not evidence of fraud. The distinction in this story is that the reported scheme involved knowingly depositing fraudulent checks and withdrawing funds before the checks were returned or cleared.
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