Faulty Aussie bank machines spew 'free money'
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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.