No Such Thing as Free Money

Bank errors just aren't in your favor anymore.

An ATM at a northwest Louisiana truck stop gave out $20 bills instead of $5s, but authorities say they know who took the extra $7,000 the machine spit out and plan to track them down.

DeSoto Parish sheriff's Lt. Toni Morris said the automated teller machine has records showing 26 people who received the extra cash during five days in late June and early July.

Annette Parker, a supervisor at Eagle's Truck Stop, said she unplugged the machine after overhearing conversations about the excess payments.

"The next morning when we had come back in, someone had plugged it back up," she said.

Morris said someone who did not work at the truck stop may have rigged the machine, which keeps records of when the money was taken and by whom.

Morris said charges could be brought against the people who got more money than they were debited for.

If this happened with the government, it'd probably take months for them to track you down, then a good lawyer would allow them to make you keep it.