You won't believe what this man did to prank bank tellers!
- Replies 8
You'd normally associate pranks with high schoolers or uni students, not grown adults. But sometimes, even the most serious-minded folks let loose and have a bit of fun.
That was the case with Jon-Bernard Kairouz, who recently posted a hilarious video that earned praise from his followers for his cheeky, creative response to a common question from bank tellers.
When it comes to withdrawing cash–particularly large sums of money–banks are required to report any transactions over $10,000 to a federal government tracking agency called the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC).
They also have a policy of calling ahead for large amounts of cash withdrawn at a branch.
Some people who withdraw a hefty sum might find these a bit intrusive, but the four big banks–Commonwealth Bank Australia (CBA), Westpac, National Australia Bank (NAB) and ANZ–all have that policy.
But Kairouz had a plan to have a bit of fun. He filmed himself at various banks, giving tellers outlandish reasons as to why he was withdrawing $6,000.
Indeed, when the tellers asked why he wanted the cash, he came up with absurd stories about his joke-filled fictional life.
At one branch, he told the teller that he needed the money to buy his girlfriend gifts as she thought he was cheating on her.
'My missus thinks I cheated on her last week. She’s doing my f****ng head in. So I need to give her some cash and a necklace,' he tells the teller.
At another branch, remarkably, the teller even seemed to accept that he was going to use the money to buy drugs.
'Drugs, coke, the devil’s lettuce, you would know,' Kairouz jokingly says.
Despite the outrageousness of his answers, Kairouz somehow managed to remain far enough below the radar to not trigger any red flags.
The funny video he posted of the session went viral, with social media users praising him and laughing along.
‘Haha...our money and none of their business,’ one commenter said.
‘If I was the bank teller, I would absolutely not be able to keep a straight face,’ another claimed.
There are others who came to the bank tellers’ defence. One person stated, ‘The sad thing is that the poor people at the bank are just employees who must ask.’
‘If banks didn’t do this, people would blame the banks when they lost their money and why they didn’t do more.’ Another pointed out.
A spokesperson for the Australian Banking Association weighed in on the stunt.
They explained that the questions were an important part of a bank teller’s job to protect customers by watching out for possible fraud.
‘Bank staff are trained to monitor large cash transactions because in some cases they are indicative of money laundering or other illegal activities,’ the spokesperson said.
‘Banks may also ask additional questions to help prevent serious systemic issues such as scams, financial elder abuse, and family and domestic violence,’ they continued.
We certainly hope that Kairouz's prank wasn't too bad for the bank tellers involved–after all, you don't want to be too hard on those just doing their jobs!
You can watch the original video here. A similar video has been posted, which you can watch here:
What are your thoughts on this, members? Share them with us in the comments below!
That was the case with Jon-Bernard Kairouz, who recently posted a hilarious video that earned praise from his followers for his cheeky, creative response to a common question from bank tellers.
When it comes to withdrawing cash–particularly large sums of money–banks are required to report any transactions over $10,000 to a federal government tracking agency called the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC).
They also have a policy of calling ahead for large amounts of cash withdrawn at a branch.
Some people who withdraw a hefty sum might find these a bit intrusive, but the four big banks–Commonwealth Bank Australia (CBA), Westpac, National Australia Bank (NAB) and ANZ–all have that policy.
But Kairouz had a plan to have a bit of fun. He filmed himself at various banks, giving tellers outlandish reasons as to why he was withdrawing $6,000.
Indeed, when the tellers asked why he wanted the cash, he came up with absurd stories about his joke-filled fictional life.
Jon-Bernard Kairouz told outlandish fake stories to bank tellers while withdrawing a huge amount of cash. Credit: @jonbernardk/TikTok
At one branch, he told the teller that he needed the money to buy his girlfriend gifts as she thought he was cheating on her.
'My missus thinks I cheated on her last week. She’s doing my f****ng head in. So I need to give her some cash and a necklace,' he tells the teller.
At another branch, remarkably, the teller even seemed to accept that he was going to use the money to buy drugs.
'Drugs, coke, the devil’s lettuce, you would know,' Kairouz jokingly says.
Despite the outrageousness of his answers, Kairouz somehow managed to remain far enough below the radar to not trigger any red flags.
The funny video he posted of the session went viral, with social media users praising him and laughing along.
‘Haha...our money and none of their business,’ one commenter said.
‘If I was the bank teller, I would absolutely not be able to keep a straight face,’ another claimed.
There are others who came to the bank tellers’ defence. One person stated, ‘The sad thing is that the poor people at the bank are just employees who must ask.’
‘If banks didn’t do this, people would blame the banks when they lost their money and why they didn’t do more.’ Another pointed out.
A spokesperson for the Australian Banking Association weighed in on the stunt.
They explained that the questions were an important part of a bank teller’s job to protect customers by watching out for possible fraud.
‘Bank staff are trained to monitor large cash transactions because in some cases they are indicative of money laundering or other illegal activities,’ the spokesperson said.
‘Banks may also ask additional questions to help prevent serious systemic issues such as scams, financial elder abuse, and family and domestic violence,’ they continued.
We certainly hope that Kairouz's prank wasn't too bad for the bank tellers involved–after all, you don't want to be too hard on those just doing their jobs!
You can watch the original video here. A similar video has been posted, which you can watch here:
What are your thoughts on this, members? Share them with us in the comments below!
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