PIN NUMBER REVERSAL

Today I received an email from a friend about PIN NUMBER REVERSAL which claims ATM users can contact police in the event of an attempted robbery by entering their PIN in reverse.

Here’s an email example that I received

PIN NUMBER REVERSAL (GOOD TO KNOW)

If you should ever be forced by a robber to withdraw money from an ATM machine, you can notify the police by entering your Pin # in reverse.

For example if your pin number is 1234 then you would put in 4321. The ATM recognizes that your pin number is backwards from the ATM card you placed in the machine.

The machine will still give you the money you requested, but unknown to the robber, the police will be immediately dispatched to help you.

This information was recently broadcast on TV and it states that it is seldom used because people don't know it exists.

Here’s another version of the email

See this important message below.

I just found out that should you ever be forced to withdraw monies from an ATM machine, you can notify the police by entering your Pin # in reverse. The machine will still give you the monies you requested, but unknown to the robber, etc, the police will be immediately dispatched to help you. The broadcast stated that this method of calling the police is very seldom used because people don't know it exist, and it might mean the difference between life and death. Hopefully, none of you will have to use this, but I wanted to pass it along just in case you hadn't heard of it. Please pass it along to everyone possible.

Apparently this information is False, for now. Although the technology exists it has not yet been implemented in the US nor here in the Philippines. The technology is called SafetyPIN which would allow ATM users to contact police in an emergency by punching in their PIN in reverse.

The inventor of SafetyPIN, Joseph Zingher, says banks are in denial. Banking industry is afraid to admit the growing extent of the crime of ATM robbery. Although Bankers acknowledge the problem of ATM crime and recommend that customers exercise due caution and be aware of their surroundings when using automated teller machines I still think that implementing the SafetyPIN will help solving or at least minimize ATM robberies.