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After rubbing your eyes a few times and looking again, the money is still there.
Your first reaction might be to leap out of bed and start imagininghow to spend it.
But if you ever find unexpected money in your bank account, its important to take a closer look.
Sometimes, people forget about deposits or automatic transfers theyve set up.
However, if you confirm that the money truly doesnt belong to you, notify your bank immediately.
Although financial institutions have systems in place to prevent errors, mistakes still happen.
Teller-based transactions are especially prone to human error, such as transposing numbers or entering incorrect account information.
Just because funds show up in your account doesnt mean you legally own them.
Once your bank discovers the error and it will it will immediately reclaim the money.
If youve already withdrawn or spent it, youll still be responsible for paying it back.
In some cases, taking money that isnt yours could even be considered theft.
Even if you acted without malicious intent, the bank will require repayment.
This could hurt your credit score and cause long-term financial issues.
Overall, if a bank error occurs in your favor, dont touch the money.
Do not withdraw it, loan it to a friend, invest it or spend it.
The bank will come back for it.
How Common Are Banking Errors Like This?
Bank errors of this nature are relatively rare, so youre unlikely to encounter them often.
As the financial industry modernizes, fewer transactions are processed by hand, reducing the chances of human error.
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