Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Software Glitch Leads To $23,148,855,308,184,500 Visa Charges

Posted by timothy on from the what's-the-grace-period-again dept.

Hmmm2000 writes "Recently several Visa card holders were, um, overcharged for certain purchases, to the tune of $23,148,855,308,184,500.00 on a single charge. The company says it was due to a programming error, and that the problem has been corrected. What is interesting is that the amount charged actually reveals the type of programming error that caused the problem. 23,148,855,308,184,500.00 * 100 (I'm guessing this is how the number is actually stored) is 2314885530818450000. Convert 2314885530818450000 to hexadecimal, and you end up with 20 20 20 20 20 20 12 50. Most C/C++ programmers see the error now ... hex 20 is a space. So spaces were stuffed into a field where binary zero should have been."

3 of 544 comments (clear)

  1. Wrong Currency? by Sponge+Bath · · Score: 0, Redundant

    The number seems about right for Zimbabwe dollars.

  2. Re:meh by davester666 · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Sign in window: "Sorry, we only have change for $1 trillion bills"

    --
    Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
  3. What's his credit limit? by Joce640k · · Score: 0, Redundant

    If he can be charged that much, what's his credit limit?

    --
    No sig today...