Cash App Glitch 2023

Submission 8,002

Overview

The Cash App Glitch 2023, also known as the Cash App Debt Glitch 2023, refers to a September 2023 event in which the mobile payment service Cash App reported an issue across many of its features, resulting in users purportedly discovering that, amid the issues, Cash App was glitching and allowing them to add any amount of money into their account. In turn, many showed the "method" and glitch in videos and photos online, showing them adding thousands of dollars seemingly out of thin air to their accounts. Documentation surfaced on TikTok and X / Twitter, among other platforms. A few days later, Cash App seemingly fixed the glitch and purportedly started withdrawing the stolen funds from the accounts of users who exploited the system, resulting in more videos and photos of deeply negative balances. Many memes and reactions surfaced on social media about the glitch during the timeframe that satirized the rumored bug, portraying skepticism about its validity. Overall, the validity of the glitch is questionable and likely to be a viral hoax.

Background

Prior to September 2023, numerous people on X^[1]^[2]^[3] and TikTok^[4]^[5] had purported "cash app glitches," however, the validity of such glitches is questionable. Purporting a "cash app glitch" on social media is seemingly associated with scammers who want people to "tap in" to their "method."

As early as June 27th, 2023, Cash App Support posted to X^[6] about "a technical issue that’s causing some customers to get charged double the amount of their transaction." Cash App further stated, "We’ll notify customers who were impacted, and we’ll refund any duplicate charges that resulted from this issue." A few months later, on September 7th, 2023, Cash App's brand account posted to X,^[7] highlighting an error in the app that was centered on its Cash Card feature (a free debit card that uses funds from a person’s Cash App balance instead of their bank account balance^[8]). The post gained roughly 1.1 million views and 2,500 likes in five days (shown below).

After September 7th, 2023, users on TikTok and X started to purport that they were exploiting Cash App, stating that there was a glitch that was allowing them to add any amount of money to their account. For instance, on September 8th, TikToker^[9] @ilysmg3 posted a video, allegedly showing over $39,000 in his account, gaining roughly 2.3 million plays and 264,500 likes in four days (shown below, left). Also on September 8th, TikToker^[10] @thereal..j1 claimed that he'd allegedly purchased a Hellcat with the glitch, gaining roughly 445,700 plays and 24,200 likes in four days (shown below, right).

Despite seeming like a newfound concept, similar "glitches" were purported on TikTok^[11]^[12] throughout early and mid-2023 within videos showing people allegedly adding money to their accounts (shown below) similar to the September 2023 videos. However, the validity of such videos is unconfirmed.

After September 8th, 2023, various users online started to purport that their Cash App balances were negative due to their exploiting the rumored glitch. For instance, on September 8th, TikToker^[13] @jjaleelll posted a video in which his balance was seemingly negative by thousands of dollars, gaining roughly 814,000 plays and 86,900 likes in four days (shown below, left). Also on September 8th, TikToker^[14] @stamqs posted a similar video, gaining roughly 409,500 plays and 10,100 likes in four days (shown below, right).

Online Reaction

Due to the viral content about the glitch supposedly happening and then backfiring, many made reactionary content and memes. Many reactions and memes were skeptical in nature, evident in videos that showed hyperbolically negative balances as a way to seemingly satirize the Cash App Glitch content.

For instance, TikToker^[15] @asa.evans__ posted a video with a humorously negative balance on September 11th, 2023, gaining roughly 1.4 million plays and 235,200 likes in a day (shown below, left). Also on September 11th, TikToker^[16] @jaksin21 posted a video that satirized the alleged glitch, gaining roughly 990,400 plays and 138,700 likes in one day (shown below, right).