June 22, 2012

Perhaps They Should Have Tested More - Bank Of America

Perhaps Bank of America should have tested more



Due to a software bug, a 55 year old man was allowed to withdraw far more than his bank account contained while using Bank of America ATM machines. He subsequently gambled away all of the money. copyrightjoestrazzere


  • Bug occurred while accounts were being transferred from LaSalle Bank to Bank of America after an acquisition
  • Status of account was changed to allow unlimited withdrawals (Is that actually a valid status? If so, where can I get me one of those?)
  • Able to withdraw $1,543,104 over a 15-day period
  • Lost all the money gambling
  • Prosecutors in the case place some of the blame with Bank of America for allowing him to withdraw the funds in the first place, and are recommending only 15 months in jail
  • Some think the offender should be freed, because the bank was negligent


Perhaps the man was a gambling addict with no control over his behavior. Perhaps the bank was negligent, and the man should be freed.

And perhaps Bank of America should have tested more.


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This article originally appeared in my blog: All Things Quality
My name is Joe Strazzere and I'm currently a Director of Quality Assurance.
I like to lead, to test, and occasionally to write about leading and testing.
Find me at http://AllThingsQuality.com/.

1 comment:

  1. If an appropriate amount and type of testing was carried out then this situation could not have happened. Having said that, the gentleman in question should also take personal responsibility and should have questioned the bank as to the reasons they allowed him to withdraw more money than he was allowed.

    If i was to pass judgement, then liability should be split 50/50. Both parties are to blame for this occurrance.

    ReplyDelete