People line up at ‘rogue’ cash machine after it began giving out ‘double cash’

A crowd of people swarmed a cash machine in the UK after it reportedly starting spitting out double the money.

Keen to cash in on the supposed technical error, Brits rushed to take a turn of the malfunctioning ATM in East Ham, London.

Take a look:

Locals formed a disorderly queue at the NatWest cash machine in the hopes of getting their hands on 'double cash'.

News of the supposedly multiplying money being dispensed quickly spread and the street was soon full of people.

Footage shows a mob huddled around the ATM as they each waited for their chance to put their card in and enter their pin.

They seemed to be under the illusion that the issue meant they could receive double the amount they had withdrawn on the expense of NatWest.

Although it seems like a fool proof plan, taking advantage of this glitch won't get you any free money.

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Modern cash machines have technology which can rectify incorrect transactions.

So you've played yourself - as the extra money is actually coming out of your account in the long run anyway.

Banks will usually chase up customers for the cash very quickly and customers will swiftly receive notice they've been charged.

Most social media users were aware of this and soon started poking fun at the people who rushed to the faulty ATM.

One said: "When they check their bank balance and realise it's taken double their money and it's not free money."

Another added: "Stealing money from their own accounts."

A third joked: "Who's going to tell them where the moneys coming from?"

And someone else wrote: "Won't think it's wonderful when the overdraft charges hit!"

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Believe it or not, if you head to a faulty cash machine like this with the intention of bagging some free money, you could potentially be prosecuted for theft.

As you are knowingly taking money that you know isn't really yours, exploiting this issue could be considered illegal.

A NatWest spokesperson told the Mirror: "Due to a one-off manual error, a number of transactions at one ATM dispensed more cash than the requested amount.

"This has since been fixed and customers can use this ATM as normal."

The bank said that the issue affected a 'relatively small number of transactions', and that it will not be seeking to claim back the additional money that was distributed in error.

LADbible has contacted NatWest for further comment.

Topics: Money, UK News, Social Media

Olivia Burke

Olivia is a journalist at LADbible Group with more than five years of experience and has worked for a number of top publishers, including News UK. She also enjoys writing food reviews (as well as the eating part). She is a stereotypical reality TV addict, but still finds time for a serious documentary.

@livburke_