Imagine returning home after a casual night out with friends, checking your bank account expecting the usual spending damage, only to discover you owe more money than some countries' GDP. This surreal scenario became reality for Maddie McGivern, whose banking app displayed a staggering negative balance of nearly fifty billion dollars.
The Shocking Discovery
According to TikToker Gabe Floress, Maddie's evening had been completely ordinary - just drinks with friends at a local bar. The surreal moment arrived when she opened her Chase banking app around 2 am. While one account showed a normal balance of $76.28, another displayed an unimaginable figure: "-$49,999,999,697.98."
"I wish I could say I bought the city of Los Angeles. It's not the case here," Maddie later shared in a since-deleted TikTok video. Her friends initially thought she was exaggerating until they saw the screen themselves. The group was left speechless, with Maddie asking aloud, "What do I do?" without receiving any immediate answers.
The Frantic Bank Call
The shock prompted an immediate call to Chase Bank, where even the customer service representative seemed baffled by the situation. Maddie recreated the conversation: "Hi, I'm negative 50 billion dollars in debt, and I'm not quite sure why. Do I have 50 billion dollars? No. I do have $76."
The employee responded by placing her on hold, admitting they had never encountered such a situation before. Adding to the absurdity, her account also showed she was due to receive a $50 billion payment in 2099, which Maddie found darkly amusing, noting she probably wouldn't be alive to collect it.
Resolution and Explanation
Chase Bank eventually addressed the issue publicly. A spokesperson confirmed to Newsweek that the bank experienced a "technical glitch over the weekend" affecting "a limited number of accounts." They assured customers that "the issue has been resolved and those accounts are now showing accurate balances."
Maddie expressed relief that the situation was resolved, thanking everyone for their concern. She also offered insight into what might have caused the chaos, explaining that Chase had recently implemented new account management features that weekend, which apparently triggered similar problems for other customers.
Not the First Banking Error
This isn't the first time digital banking errors have created surreal situations. In another notable case, a man temporarily became the richest person in history when his PayPal balance incorrectly showed £70 quadrillion. Another incident involved a Chilean worker who was accidentally paid 330 times his salary (approximately $167,000). After promising to return the money, he instead quit his job, and a three-year legal battle ended with a court ruling that he couldn't be prosecuted for keeping the funds.
While Maddie's story ended less dramatically, it created memorable internet moments. One TikToker jokingly thanked her for paying off their student debt, to which Maddie replied that she couldn't take on everyone's student debt, but "maybe Jeff Bezos will." For a brief period, she had become, on paper, the most indebted person alive due to a simple technical error.
