Australian police have said they had charged two men
with dishonestly obtaining money, a day after a computer glitch
left bank machines giving customers more money than they had in
their accounts.
The men, aged 18 and 20, were allegedly seen passing money
between themselves outside a bank in western Sydney on Tuesday.
"It will be alleged that both men dishonestly obtained the cash
by using a faulty ATM (automatic teller machine)," police said in a
statement.
Police did not link the arrest to Tuesday's fault which affected
cash machines in Sydney, but have reminded the public it is an
offence to fraudulently obtain money via an ATM.
Reports said that customers raced to Commonwealth Bank cash
points on Tuesday after news of the technical problem spread via
social networking sites, with queues forming at branches around
Sydney.
"People were running past me screaming 'Free money! Free
money'," Sydney's Daily Telegraph reported pharmacy manager Feriale
Zakhia as saying.
Customers reported being given more money than they requested
from the machines, and that they were able to take out more than
was in their accounts.
But police said anyone who profited would be traced and forced
to repay the funds.
"If these people know they're not entitled to the money then
certainly they are committing an offence," said fraud squad
commander Col Dyson.