The Billion Dollar Heist Typo
In the past, visiting a bank was a requirement if you wanted to conduct any banking. Even trying to imagine? Major international banks now exist without even having physical premises that you can visit. Financial crimes may occur incredibly quickly and behind everyone's back because online banking is so common, which is undoubtedly a bad thing. If there is a benefit, it is that an internet burglar may occasionally make a mistake that derails their entire plan.
2016 saw hackers infiltrate the Bangladeshi central bank, steal their login information, and start a bank transfer. They started submitting transfer requests to withdraw funds from Bangladesh's enormous holdings at the US Federal Reserve Bank and send them to a few arbitrary accounts in the Philippines and Sri Lanka.
One of the largest heists in Bangladeshi history, the robbers were able to steal about $81 million, making it so. But the thieves made a mistake afterwards. Someone entered "Shalika Fandation" as the recipient of the subsequent $20 million payment to an account in Sri Lanka. However, that isn't a thing. The correct spelling was "Shalika Foundation."
The error prevented the transfer from taking place. Additionally, it highlighted the transfer and prompted an investigation. As a result, more transactions totaling between $850 and $870 million had to be postponed as well. Once it was established that the transactions were unlawful, authorities canceled them; nonetheless, only a small amount of the initial $81 million was recovered.
- Cost: $81 million
