Florida woman stunned after suddenly finding nearly a $1 billion in her account

According to Fox 4 News when she went to withdraw the amount, the machine came back and said, “We’ll give you the $20 but that’ll cause an overdraft and you will be charged”. So, she decided not to withdraw but check her balance instead.

“I know most people would’ve thought they won the lottery, but I was horrified because it wasn’t my money,” Yonkowski told local WFLA.

“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,” the elderly woman explained to the local channel.

However, it turns out she never became a billionaire, as the amount was never transferred to her account. The representative of the bank confirmed to NBC’s Channel 8 News, “it wasn’t a positive balance, but a negative balance of nearly a billion dollars that was listed.”

Explaining that it is a “fraud prevention method used to freeze an account”, the number depicts any suspicious activity. The report added that Yonkowski’s late husband was a joint owner of the bank account, and it was flagged when she attempted to use it, also the reason why she couldn’t withdraw any money.

The bank explained that people are required to turn in proper documentation in a situation like this to avoid a freeze on a joint bank account.

As many these days are worried about cyber threats, the woman said this was a learning experience and hopes others too can learn from her story.