Ocean County widow finds bank account overdrawn by nearly $100 billion
Patricia Conlon says that she woke up Friday morning to a surprising bank balance. She says she immediately called Chase Bank.
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What would you do if you woke up with a bank account balance overdrawn by nearly $100 billion? This happened to an Ocean County widow who reached out exclusively to News 12 New Jersey to get to the bottom of it.
Patricia Conlon says that she woke up Friday morning to the surprising bank balance. She says she immediately called Chase Bank.
“I saw that there was a number there - negative $99,999,999,099.99,” Conlon says. “I was stunned, needless to say.”
Conlon says she spent the next few hours frantically making calls and speaking to several departments within the company trying to find out how this happened.
“One of the people I spoke to mumbled something about a deceased account holder,” Conlon says.
Conlon’s husband passed away two months ago. She says she was shocked and wondered how this would lead to a negative bank balance.
A spokesperson with Chase Bank tells News 12 that holds are placed on accounts of deceased customers until they can speak to the family or surviving relatives. Chase did fix the $99 billion overdraft within a few hours.
But Conlon says that she was already in contact with the bank about her husband’s death before this incident.
“Keep a close eye on your bank account,” she says. “Know your rights.”
A Chase spokesperson says the company will continue to investigate what led to the incident.
Financial experts recommend that for added safety and security, bank customers should learn what tools and alerts can be set up on their accounts to flag any transactions that are out of the norm.
