JP Morgan sues customers over virus check scam

US banking giant JP Morgan Chase is suing customers who allegedly took advantage of a glitch by illegally withdrawing thousands of dollars from its ATMs.

The “infinite money glitch,” as it was dubbed on TikTok, allowed the bank's customers to write a large check to themselves, deposit it, and then withdraw the money before the check cleared.

Two individuals and two companies are facing trials in Houston, Miami and Los Angeles.

You will be asked to repay the money plus interest, pay associated overdraft fees and cover legal and other costs incurred by the bank.

“Chase takes its responsibility to combat fraud seriously and places a high priority on protecting the company and its customers to make the banking system more secure,” the bank said in court filings.

“Part of that responsibility is holding people accountable when they defraud Chase and its customers. Simply put, bank fraud is a crime.”

In one of the cases, a court filing described how, on August 29, a masked man deposited a check for $335,000 (£258,300) into the defendant's Chase bank account.

According to court documents, the defendant then began withdrawing the money.

The check was ultimately returned as a counterfeit, but the defendant still owed the bank more than $290,000, the filing continued.

According to JP Morgan Chase lawyers, the amount of money retained by the defendants in the four lawsuits totaled more than $660,000.

Banks in the United States typically allow customers to withdraw only a small fraction of the value of a check before it is cashed.

Last month, the Wall Street Journal reported that JP Morgan Chase had closed the breach days after several videos informing people of the glitch went viral on social media.

According to the report, the bank investigated thousands of possible check fraud incidents.