A Man Walks into a Bank • Hacker News Board

Re: A Man Walks into a Bank

#71

Post by corin_ » Mon, Aug 06, 2012, 2:09 PM UTC

veyron wrote: post #56

DiabloD3 wrote: post #9

I'm sorry, but from what I know of banking law (ianal, nor do I play one on the Internet, but it helps to know enough to defend yourself from banks)... why isn't he in jail? I thought knowingly doing what he did constitutes bank fraud and numerous other charges?

He didn't generate a fraudulent check, so he didn't do anything illegal. It's akin to receiving a forged bill and then using it at the next place.

Worth noting that (at least according to him) it's not just that he didn't make the fake cheque, it's that when he gave it to his bank he meant it as a joke, he wasn't actually trying to get the money.

Re: A Man Walks into a Bank

#72

Post by kolinko » Mon, Aug 06, 2012, 2:18 PM UTC

veyron wrote: post #49

derda wrote: post #45

It amazes me everytime, that in the US day-to-day banking still consists mostly of writing, sending and cashing cheques. In germany (I dont know about the rest of Europe, but I guess the situation is similar), cheques are virtually non existent. You can still get and cash them, but you will get weird looks from the person behind the bank counter, most of the time there will be a hefty fee associated with it(I once ca…

Checks are still useful because most online transfer mechanisms cost money. For example, my bank recently started charging for ACH transfers, and wires are always expensive.

The question is - why are online transfer mechanisms expensive? Wire transfers should be much cheaper than checkques.

In Poland (although we're a much smaller country), wire transfers cost from free to 30 cents (doesn't matter how much you send, you could wire $1M and still pay 30 cents), and take from an hour to a working day to process.

Re: A Man Walks into a Bank

#73

Post by zalew » Mon, Aug 06, 2012, 2:24 PM UTC

Heh, a check in 1995 you say. Ok, hear this. This year 2 guys here in Warsaw put a bag full of newspaper into a cash deposit and walked away with 1.5 million Euro on their account. By 'their' account I mean an account set up on a fake or some bum who gave them their ID for a few hundred. Supposedly they had an insider who thought them how to build trust on the account, so after some time the deposits are cashed in before verified. The scammers vanished into thin air, in the meantime cashing out about 1 mil Euro, and the guy putting the bag on the cctv probably turned out to be some other drunkard.

Re: A Man Walks into a Bank

#74

Post by k33l0r » Mon, Aug 06, 2012, 2:31 PM UTC

veyron wrote: post #49

derda wrote: post #45

It amazes me everytime, that in the US day-to-day banking still consists mostly of writing, sending and cashing cheques. In germany (I dont know about the rest of Europe, but I guess the situation is similar), cheques are virtually non existent. You can still get and cash them, but you will get weird looks from the person behind the bank counter, most of the time there will be a hefty fee associated with it(I once ca…

Checks are still useful because most online transfer mechanisms cost money. For example, my bank recently started charging for ACH transfers, and wires are always expensive.

In Finland cheques are pretty much completely unused. Domestic bank transfers are pretty much free for all private people and almost everyone pays all their invoices electronically via their online bank.

To transfer money from person to person, the only information you need is their bank account number and name. As far I can tell, there's no way that you could use the account number in a malicious way (which is why charities and companies can publish their's with no repercussions). With the introduction of SEPA and IBANs, this now applies to the entire EU.

What's more, credit and debit cards are accepted almost universally (with a few exceptions), which means that I hardly ever carry cash with me.

I think you can get a cashier’s cheque if you really need to, but I think cheque books have completely disappeared (I don't even know if I could get one if I really wanted to).

Re: A Man Walks into a Bank

#75

Post by takluyver » Mon, Aug 06, 2012, 2:32 PM UTC

derda wrote: post #45

It amazes me everytime, that in the US day-to-day banking still consists mostly of writing, sending and cashing cheques. In germany (I dont know about the rest of Europe, but I guess the situation is similar), cheques are virtually non existent. You can still get and cash them, but you will get weird looks from the person behind the bank counter, most of the time there will be a hefty fee associated with it(I once ca…

In the UK, as in so many things, we're half way between Europe and the US. Cheques (spelled like that) are rarely used, but most people have a cheque book in a drawer somewhere.

Bank transfers here are free, but the recipient has to give you their account number & sort code, so you might use a cheque to give money to a friend. Private landlords might require the rent as postdated cheques. If you send a membership form by post, you might be able to enclose a cheque to pay for it, though it's more common to set up a direct debit.

Re: A Man Walks into a Bank

#76

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Aug 06, 2012, 2:40 PM UTC

freehunter wrote: post #36

timkeller wrote: post #24

Remind me why we still have cheques in our banking system?

Because cash doesn't leave a paper trail and not everyone can accept cards.

[deleted]

Re: A Man Walks into a Bank

#77

Post by veyron » Mon, Aug 06, 2012, 2:43 PM UTC

kolinko wrote: post #72

veyron wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Checks are still useful because most online transfer mechanisms cost money. For example, my bank recently started charging for ACH transfers, and wires are always expensive.

The question is - why are online transfer mechanisms expensive? Wire transfers should be much cheaper than checkques. In Poland (although we're a much smaller country), wire transfers cost from free to 30 cents (doesn't matter how much you send, you could wire $1M and still pay 30 cents), and take from an hour to a working day to process.

Wire transfer and CHIPs both go through the NY Fed system. The banks send requests and money is drawn from or credited to the individual bank's account at the fed.

Here are the specs: http://www.frbservices.org/campaigns/remittance/files/fedwir...

Re: A Man Walks into a Bank

#78

Post by mhb » Mon, Aug 06, 2012, 2:46 PM UTC

portman wrote: post #32

I remember this story flooding the Internet in 1995. I'm confused why the author is doing a "one-man comedic show" 17 years later.

He wants HN karma.

Re: A Man Walks into a Bank

#79

Post by veyron » Mon, Aug 06, 2012, 2:46 PM UTC

k33l0r wrote: post #74

veyron wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Checks are still useful because most online transfer mechanisms cost money. For example, my bank recently started charging for ACH transfers, and wires are always expensive.

In Finland cheques are pretty much completely unused. Domestic bank transfers are pretty much free for all private people and almost everyone pays all their invoices electronically via their online bank. To transfer money from person to person, the only information you need is their bank account number and name. As far I can tell, there's no way that you could use the account number in a malicious way (which is why c…

" Domestic bank transfers are pretty much free for all private people and almost everyone pays all their invoices electronically via their online bank."

In the US, domestic bank transfers cost money (for example, Bank of America charges 3 dollars for ACH and 25 for sending wires; most banks charge 15 for receiving a wire), which explains to a great extent why cheques are still used.

"What's more, credit and debit cards are accepted almost universally" -- credit card fees are onerous

"I think you can get a cashier’s cheque if you really need to" -- did that on Friday. 8 bucks.

Re: A Man Walks into a Bank

#80

Post by IChrisI » Mon, Aug 06, 2012, 2:46 PM UTC

sudonim wrote: post #29

dalore wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What about signatures? Surely the signature has the match the one on file or the cheque bounces?

How would that process work? Check gets deposited in ABC bank (issued by XYZ bank). ABC bank sends a scan of the check to XYZ bank. And XYZ bank has an employee whose job it is to look at every inbound check to make sure the signature matches? Or maybe they have computers to recognize the signature and compare them for similarities. If it's too different, then it's flagged and sent to an employee for further review?…

I used to sign checks as Nickname Lastname, rather than my given name. I eventually had one bounce due to "signature not as drawn". I do have very legible handwriting though.