Warning: A very common practice among digital wallet users has been declared a crime.

Within the widespread use of digital wallets (apps like Nequi, Daviplata, or dale!), mistakes are often made that can be literally costly, such as sending money to the wrong number due to a typing error.

Typically, when this mistake is made, the recipient is contacted to inform them of the error, and while there are people who return the money received, there are those who choose not to do so and cut off all communication channels, regardless of the need or urgency of the person who sent the money .

(You can read: The procedure for declaring income before the Dian if you use electronic wallets ).

These types of situations are very common among digital wallet users, despite the recommendations and warnings these applications have in their interfaces , as long as the user verifies the information of the recipient to whom they are going to send money.

For example, Nequi specifies that the refund depends solely on the goodwill of the person receiving it and that from the application " we can only debit the user's resources, provided that they give their authorization ."

(More: Confirmed by the Dian: If I use a virtual wallet, do I have to declare income tax? )

The platform, based on data protection regulations, clarifies that " we can locate the person who received the money to inform them of the error, in an effort to obtain a refund, but we act only as an intermediary ."

A crime?

Something that many people don't know is that anyone who decides to keep the amount of a transfer sent by mistake is committing a crime that can be punishable by imprisonment . Therefore, if you have been in the situation of having made an erroneous deposit and not receiving the money back, Colombian law allows you to take legal action in the matter.

This crime is defined in the Penal Code (Law 599 of 2000) , more specifically in Article 252, entitled 'Taking advantage of another's error or fortuitous event', which can be applied to cases in which there is no refund of the money transferred in error.

(More: Be careful: Here's how to avoid being a victim of the millionaire ride .)

This article also mentions that the penalty that can be imposed for this conduct is between 16 and 36 months in prison , as long as the amount does not exceed 10 times the current legal monthly minimum wage (smmlv) .

Francisco Bernate, a criminal lawyer , explained to Red+ that in these types of minor crimes, there is only six months to file a complaint, but after that, the opportunity is lost. This is because it is a prosecutable crime, meaning it is considered less serious. For a formal investigation to be carried out, the affected person must file a complaint with the Attorney General's Office .

According to the Guerrero Abogados firm , cited by the same media outlet, " the maximum time to take action in this case may not exceed six months, except in cases of force majeure or fortuitous event that can be validly proven ," since the crime expires within that period.

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