"Money, Money, Money Must Be Funny "
by Tanvi
by Tanvi
Money, money, money must be funny, in a rich man’s world
If you think money cannot solve your problems, you just don’t have enough money to solve them. One can extrapolate this basic truth with ease by living in the madness called society. Some people took the advice to heart and set out to cheat the system. They made the dream of a common person come true: “infinite money glitches” in real life.
“Infinite money glitch” is a term used to describe situations where, due to a loophole, error, or systemic failure, money could be created or extracted repeatedly until the system corrected it. In real life, these never stay infinite, but some come surprisingly close.
Basic examples would start with every economic studies major’s nightmare, hyperinflation (a.k.a. the ultimate government money glitch). Zimbabwe1 (early 2000s) printed money to cover government spending, and they issued 100 trillion-dollar notes. At first people felt richer, wages went up, and debt felt cheaper. Then the currency collapsed, and they had to replace it with foreign money. Their economy reset, very painfully. It was infinite money in quantity, but zero money in value.
Next in line comes bank errors. Citibank accidentally wired $900 million to Revlon, Inc. lenders in August, 2020.2 They intended to send interest payments, but accidentally sent entire loan principals. Now, this meant that money left the bank legally. Some recipients returned it quietly; others refused and won in court. You don’t need to be super smart to become rich, just know how to take advantage of a dumb move.
A guy once deposited a large, invalid check in the bank and immediately withdrew money from the ATM before the check bounced. This way he earned about 100,000 dollars. The problem occurred mainly with J.P . Morgan Chase Bank in August 2024. This “hack” went viral on TikTok, and the bank haphazardly patched up this error, though the participants of the trend had their accounts frozen, incurred massive debts, and faced criminal prosecution, so this wasn’t just a glitch, it was check fraud.3
Next up is airline miles & loyalty program exploits. Airlines treat miles as marketing tools, not regulated currency, so they are issued cheaply. People buy refundable tickets, earn miles, refund the tickets, keep the miles, and repeat.4 Credit card bonus stacking mileage multipliers applied infinitely to them. People rode first class for free for years before it was regulated.
Hopping off of the Americas, the smuggling of Indian coins, particularly the old, thicker ₹5 coins, to Bangladesh was a significant issue in the 2000s and early 2010s. Smugglers melted them down to produce items like razor blades and ornaments, which was profitable due to the metal's high quality.5 With roughly 6 razors (₹2 each) from one coin meant a profit margin of roughly ₹6. Smugglers and unscrupulous traders offered a premium (up to 15-20% more than the face value) to individuals like small shopkeepers and beggars to collect these coins. The coins were then transported across the border, either whole or melted into bars in small-scale foundries in India. The illegal activity contributed to a severe shortage of small coins in India, disrupting daily transactions. The RBI decided to change the metallic composition of the ₹5 coin to a less attractive cupronickel alloy, making it less lucrative for melting and repurposing. The central bank coordinated with police, the Border Security Force (BSF), and other intelligence agencies to crack down on smuggling activities.
Money is never infinite, and the cheat codes to easy money are banned, patched or penalised. The post-mortem of broken money systems is hereby completed.
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