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Florida Woman Thought She Found $1 Billion in Her Bank Account Before Discovering It Was Fraud Prevention

WFLA

A Florida woman was in for quite the surprise over the weekend when she discovered that her bank account balance was nearly $1 billion.

Julia Yonkowski went to her local Chase Bank in Largo, Florida, on Saturday to withdraw $20, she told WFLA.

"When I put in for the $20, the machine came back and said we'll give you the $20 but that'll cause an overdraft and you will be charged and I said, 'Oh just forget it,'" she said.

She decided to check her balance and, according to the receipt she received, had $999,985,855.94.

"Oh my God, I was horrified. I know most people would think they won the lottery but I was horrified," she told the news station. "I know I've read stories about people that took the money or took out money, and then they had to repay it and I wouldn't do that anyway because it's not my money."

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On Tuesday, a representative for Chase was able to clear up the confusion, explaining that the balance was actually negative - and no, Yonkowski hadn't overdrafted.

The number is actually an indicator of a fraud prevention method, and it generally appears if an individual's account has been locked due to suspicious activity, the spokesperson told WFLA. This also explains why Yonkowski was unable to withdraw her $20.

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According to the representative, her late husband was also named on the joint account. Generally, the bank requires proper documentation to release the account to a sole individual in these cases.

Yonkowski said she hopes her story will educate others who may find themselves in a similar situation.

"It kind of scares me because you know, with cyber threats. You know, I don't know what to think," she said.