Reverse PIN Scam is back.......

The other day I was sent an email by a friend who knows that I have something to do with ATM security.  He felt that I needed to know about the message, and he was right..........I was able to let him know that the message is a hoax and to ignore it and not pass it on.  The message in the scam email is below:

PIN advice - good information
ATM 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 system 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 the location. All ATM’s carry this emergency
sequencer by law.

This information was recently broadcast on by Crime Stoppers however it
is seldom used because people just don't know about it.

Please pass this along to everyone.

This is the kind of information people don't mind receiving, so pass it
on to your family and friends  

 
To the best of my knowledge this hoax email has been doing the rounds since 2006.  I think that there might be one US State where reverse PIN is being considered, but I am not sure.  If you see it best to break the chain and let others know that it is a hoax.
I recommended that my friend visit the Cardholder Security Tips  page on the website of the European ATM Security Team (EAST) for more information on using an ATM securely.