Poll: You come across a broken ATM...

[rednose1]

Yep, without a second thought. Banks aren't worth wasting a morality debate on, seeing as they aren't people. They are soulless creations designed to make money, and nothing else. They've gotten to the point were they are untouchable legally (HSBC being the newest one to take the limelight).

 

[Jfswift]

I had a coin machine at an arcade chug out about 10-20 dollars. I waited for a good five minutes and no one said anything or claimed it, at which point I proceeded to play games for an hour. If an atm did that I'd probably take the cash unless it was like, a ridiculous amount. I'd probably turn it back in at that point. That reminded me of this actually, a few years ago some lady walked off, leaving her card in the atm, still in the menu. I did the right thing and closed it out and gave her card back. My reward was an angry glare.

 

[loudmadman]

I personally couldn't do take the money, as much as I would like to. I would do the right thing and hand it over to the authorities. Who knows? With a LOT of luck, I could get some kind of a reward (You know, aside from the satisfaction of doing the right thing or something along those lines).

 

[FavouriteDream]

It depends how much money came out. If it was a small amount (as in under several hundred) I'd probably take it I guess. If it was a lot, there is no way in hell I'd risk my freedom taking that. You'd be done for stealing and you'd get caught eventually I think. Even if that camera over the ATM is broken, you would have been picked up further along the street outside a shop or something so they'd have a fair idea you were a suspect. Fuck that. Prison isn't for me.

Now if I had excessive debt or was in a lot of financial stress? Different story.

 

[BaronUberstein]

I'd immediately go and get the bank manager's attention. The money spewing out isn't mine to take.

 

[purf]

Okay, with the given scenario as it would really turn out (and keeping in mind what a lot of you seem to miss: Your card, anyone's card is NOT involved), here's what I'd do:

Because the ATM, broken/hacked as it might be, will simply not spill out all its money like I hit the jackpot on a slot machine, but will in any case do so in small batches of what it can handle at most (maybe 1000 ?/$/£), I will take... two of those, maybe three but then walk away.

 

[Auron225]

How would I know at the time it wasn't coming out of someone's account? o.0

If I did know that for sure, then I would take it and donate most of it to charity so at least some good is coming out of it. But it has happened before that people have tried to lift money, it gave them their card but said "error" and didn't give them anything, then 30 seconds later dispensed it (after the person already left). It happened to my mum once - luckily the guy behind her was awesome enough to chase after her and give it to her. I think it was over £100.

 

[Aeshi]

If I could 100% guarantee that I'd get away with it? Yes

When Fate hands you a card that good, it would be a bigger crime NOT to take/use it.

 

[micahrp]

snip

This is only the passive question, go for the active question!

Such as, "You find a wallet full of credit cards and you know the local appliance/electronics/grocery store has no cameras and the clerks don't try to verify card ownership. Do you go on an spending spree till the cards are rejected?"

If the answer to the active question and the passive question are not the same then you have the reflection of how principled people here are.

As for myself: no, no and no. That which is not truly offered to you by the owner has to be returned. I have returned every wallet I have found and give back incorrect change from clerk (terrible math skills in America!). I worked as a clerk in a drug store in a bad neighborhood for many years and stopped many fraudulant credit card transaction attempts when it would have been easy to ignore the signs of wrong doing as all of my coworkers did.

My greater principle that leads me to this is Universalism. What if every ATM does this to every person that uses them and the banks cannot detect how their money is disappearing? They are companies and they will start retaliating against those they DO have power over.

I believe this is why credit card interest rates are so high for many, especially new users. Too many people have NEVER paid their credit cards off . I had an unmarried family member die off with over $70,000 in credit card debt that was never paid off (they had no assests, the family paid for the funeral). The credit card companies are companies that make money and lost money must be recoupt some other way so they raise interest rates to balance the books.

 

[Angie7F]

Absolutely take the money.

But that would be after checking that there are no cameras etc.

 

[Denamic]

Absolutely.
I'm not well off enough to refuse free money.

 

[NearLifeExperience]

Yes I would. Getting by is hard enough without a lucky jackpot like that.

I also believe that anyone who says they wouldn't take the money because it's wrong, is LYING.

 

[Nobuoa Schniell]

I would take the money, but I wouldn't bother offering an excuse. Fuck everything, I want money.

 

[Poetic Nova]

I would take it, unless I would be taped on camera, could use the money to pay the bills.

 

[x EvilErmine x]

I think the speed at which I would grab that shit would lead to a whole new and exotic branch of physics, as my had would exceed c.

Seriously, i would take the money with no moral qualms, it's the responsibility of the ATM operator to make sure that the ATM is functioning correctly and they are liable for any faults not resulting from LINK or BACS systems.

However saying that, you know the old moral choice scenario 'You find a wallet on the floor containing a large amount of cash and no one is around, do you take the cash?' Well in that situation then i know exactly what i would do because it's happened to me. I handed it in to the police station. I was told that if no one came forward to claim it in 31 days then it would be mine. It turned out in the end that it belonged to an elderly gentleman who had withdrawn his pension to pay his bills. So ended up without the cash but up on karma points, which is always nice.

 

[godofallu]

In real life I wouldn't take the money since I would get caught for sure.

In this guaranteed safe scenario I would take it happily.

 

[The White Hunter]

No, somebody would potentially lose their job so I don't think I would, but then again my eviler side would just steal it all.

 

[Baron von Blitztank]

Nope. Tempted as it sounds, I'm pretty sure ATM's have got security cameras pinned on them at all times.

 

[Bazaalmon]

As many others have said, if it can't be traced to me, I'd snatch it up immediately. Especially if it was Bank of America. They put me through so much crap that I feel like I'm entitled to an accidental refund of a few hundred, or thousand, or hundred thousand dollars. It's not like that amount of money would have the slightest impact on their business. I'd hope that if it hurt anyone, it'd be some ridiculous overpaid CEO, but I wouldn't worry too much about it.

 

[Jackeno]

it really depends on the amount. Also depends on the location of the cash machine. If it was on the outside of my bank, and it started churning out thousands of quid I would probably go in and tell them. But, on the other hand, my bank earns a tonne of money off my savings so I would have no issue with keeping some (especially with these rediculous bankers bonus'(UK banks))