http://www.usatoday.com/news/offbeat/2007-07-02-found-cash_N.htm

What would you do if this happened to you?

If I weren't a Bank employee, my ethics would be put to the test...

If I weren't the bank's employee, I'd keep it -- no question in my mind...

Finders, keepers...

to be honest, I'd probably return $10k and say that's all I found... If I wasn't a bank employee of course. But being a banker, and knowing that someone was probably gonna get canned if it was a banker error, I'd return it all.

yeah, to rephrase what I said,.. if I had never worked at a bank..

I'd definitely turn it in to the bank. I got an extra $20 when making a withdrawal from an ATM once, when I was in college and I returned it.

So, what happens if the bank can't find the rightful owner of the money? Does the woman who found it get to keep some or all of it?

would they need to file a CTR on you if you returned the money

Now that's a good question...

I can see it now:

Lady: I found all this money outside
Banker: Thank you for being so honest, now can I please have your social sec. #, date of birth, occupation, and a copy of your license?

LOLOad!! I had to forward this to our BSA Officer.. Funny!

If I knew who's money it was, and it belonged to an individual or small business owner I would be a lot more inclined to turn it in. However, if, for example, it was the day's deposit from the local WalMart, screw 'em...

I would return it all, unfortunately.. Bank employee or not.

I'd probably want to take it but would return it in fear of karmas retaliation for it =) Plus, like she said it's not enough money to move to Mexico haha

I'm thinking they really would need to file. Cash is coming in from the outside and going over the Bank counter...

I'm sure if you called up FinCEN and asked, they would tell you to file one..

Hmmm... seems like there would be a blank part A - unless you put the bank info there. And a part B and no account numbers effected... weird. Now you got me curious if they did or not...

well hmmm.. what would they want you to put in part A. I think I just may give FinCEN a call after lunch.

I would feel too guilty to keep it. What if someone lost their job because of it?

I dont know if I would keep it or not.... but if dsomeone lost 20K and it was their job not to lose 20k, then I think they should lose their job

Instructions say:

...deposit, withdrawal, exchange of currency, or other payment or transfer, by, through, or to the financial institution...

It certainly is "to" the financial institution, but it's not a deposit, not a withdrawal, not an exchange (since there's nothing rcvd back in return). It's not a payment, since no product or service was rendered in return. The only transaction type that it could fall under is "transfer." However it depends on whether you define transfer in the banking sense (i.e., transfer of funds between parties/accounts), in which case it's not, or in the generic sense (i.e., picking up and handing over the money transfers it from the drive-thru depository to the teller), in which case it would be covered.

I wouldn't file a CTR on the return, since the bank likely knows to which actual transaction it belongs -- that original transaction would have required a CTR, and this return of cash merely completes that interrupted transaction.

IMO...

But you know whose money it isn't (yours). Why even consider keeping it? Even if you found the cash in the street, the right thing to do is turn it over to law enforcement or whoever your state says you turn it over to. But in this case, the money was found inside a piece of equipment that belongs to the property owner.

I'm sorry, folks- this is a no brainer.

And while I'm on my soapbox, let me add that I am saddened to see such a display of dishonesty (masquerading as situational ethics) among my fellow bankers.

I do suppose that is a valid point.

Agree.

Maybe it was Uncle Harry. However then all of George's friends will take up a collection and everything will be fine...

And if someone was going to lose there job if I didn't return it, they would lose their job if I returned it or not... The possibility for a $20K loss was there and, if it were a single persons fault, loss or not, they dropped the ball... I would exaplin this to them and then give them directions to the nearest unemployment office

gosh, and I was given $1 too much in change at Wendy's yesterday, and turned back the extra $1.

I did the same thing at McDonald's a couple of weeks ago!