Someone topped up 1,000 yuan, and the account received 26419933 billion yuan—everything you read is 2641万9933亿. It’s several times bigger than the world’s GDP for a whole year.
The reason is simple: staff entered the user’s 16-digit account ID into the “top-up amount” field, and the system accepted it without question.
What’s funny is the money; what’s worth talking about is the system. A proper accounting system should do at least three things in the amount field: set a business limit and reject anything over it; validate the account field separately—16 digits that are purely numeric look like an ID, not money; and require a second confirmation or manual review when exceeding a threshold. If any one of these measures were effective, this trending topic wouldn’t exist.
In reality, many systems’ “risk control” work just like this: they can block small, frequent amounts, but they can’t block a one-off absurd slip of the hand.
By the way: when that string of numbers appears out of nowhere in your account, what’s your first reaction—take a screenshot, or call customer service right away?
#Top-upMiscreditedTrillions
The reason is simple: staff entered the user’s 16-digit account ID into the “top-up amount” field, and the system accepted it without question.
What’s funny is the money; what’s worth talking about is the system. A proper accounting system should do at least three things in the amount field: set a business limit and reject anything over it; validate the account field separately—16 digits that are purely numeric look like an ID, not money; and require a second confirmation or manual review when exceeding a threshold. If any one of these measures were effective, this trending topic wouldn’t exist.
In reality, many systems’ “risk control” work just like this: they can block small, frequent amounts, but they can’t block a one-off absurd slip of the hand.
By the way: when that string of numbers appears out of nowhere in your account, what’s your first reaction—take a screenshot, or call customer service right away?
#Top-upMiscreditedTrillions