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. 

Call for increased security at remote site ATMs.........

In the early hours of 11th March 2011 an ATM was stolen from a shopping complex located in Antrim, Northern Ireland.  The criminals prised open the doors of the Parkhall Shopping complex and removed the machine just after 2:00 am.  The amount of money lost in the ATM has not been disclosed.

According to the Northern Ireland Independent Trade Association this is the first major robbery of this type in nearly two years.  Chief Executive Glyn Roberts stated "......I would call upon every retailer who has an ATM machine in their premises to urgently review their security in the light of this robbery."

You can read more on the story on UTV News.

Blog comment:  Following on from that comment, what could the options be?  Assuming that this ATM was a 'merchant fill' machine (i.e. the retailer directly replenishes the cash), the risk is with the retailer. 

ATM robbers arrested in Slovakia

Police in Slovakia have just reported that three members of an active gang have recently been arrested.  They were part of a gang that has allegedly attacked 30 ATMs across Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Austria. The gang members were armed and well equipped when carrying out the attacks - they used explosives and vehicles with chains to get the ATMs off their anchorages.

The men may face prison sentences of between 10 and 15 years.  The gang is alleged to have stolen €347,000, and an additonal €500,000 of collateral damage resulted from the attacks.

Physical attacks against ATMs (ram raids, pull out attacks, burglarly and robbery) appear to be an issue in parts of central and eastern Europe and, although they don't always grab the headlines the way that card skimming and other fraud does.

For the full story see an article in the Slovak Spectator.