Skip to main content

Tips To Make Your Trip To The ATM Safer


Most ATM robberies occur at night between 8:00 PM and midnight. ATM robbers are usually males under 25 years of age and usually work alone. ATM robbers usually wait nearby for a victim to withdraw cash. Most ATM robbery victims are women and were alone when robbed. Most claim that they never saw the robber coming. Most ATM robbers use a gun or claim to have a concealed weapon when confronting the victim and demanding their cash.Here are some tips that can make the ATM process safer:Use ATM machines in well-lit, high-traffic areas. Don't use ATM machines that are remote or hidden behind buildings, pillars, walls, or away from public view. Beware of obvious hiding places like shrubbery or overgrown trees. ATM robbers like to have the element of surprise and no witnesses. Robbers like good escape routes such as nearby freeway on-ramps or high-speed thoroughfares.Choose an ATM that looks and feels safe, even if it is a couple of miles out of your way. Try and limit your use to daylight hours. Try to rake someone with you if you have to go after dark. When you drive up to an ATM, look around the area for any suspicious persons. If you see anyone suspicious standing nearby or sitting in a car, drive away. When you approach an ATM on foot be prepared and have your access card ready. Memorize your personal PIN number to prevent loss and speed the transaction. After inserting your card and your PIN number keep an eye out behind you. Never accept an offer to help or request for help from a suspicious male ahead of you at the machine. If anyone suspicious or seemingly dangerous approaches terminate your transaction and leave immediately, even if it means running away and leaving your ATM card in the machine. First, tell the suspicious male in a loud, firm voice to "back-off" and leave you alone. This is designed to startle the person and give you time to get away. When you receive cash from the machine immediately put it away, take your card from the machine and walk away.If you use your car at a drive-up ATM machine the same rules apply. Keep the car in gear, with your foot firmly on the brake, while using the ATM machine. Keep a close eye on your rear and side view mirrors during the transaction. Robbers almost always approach from the rear driver’s side. If you see anyone approaching, drive off even if it means leaving your ATM card behind. If an armed robber confronts you, give up your money without hesitation. The cash is not worth serious injury or death. Get to a safe place and immediately call the police.Do not use the machine if the lights around the ATM are not working.Avoid ATM machines adjacent to obvious hiding places.Have your card ready and leave quickly. Do not count your cash in public.Beware of offers for help from strangers during an ATM transaction. Don't fight with or attempt to follow the robber.Drive or walk to a safe place and immediately call the police.These tips can save your life.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

India's swine flu death rate is increasing

Friday, August 14, 2009 MUMBAI: A 26-year-old woman died Thursday of H1N1 swine flu in the southern city of Bangalore, raising India's death toll from the virus to 20, authorities said.The death was the first reported in India's information technology capital, the Press Trust of India reported.Meanwhile in Pune, the worst-affected in India, two more victims of the virus died Thursday, raising the death toll in that western city near Mumbai to 12, the report said. The victims were an 11-month-old boy and a 75-year-old old woman.US media reported movie halls, schools and colleges were ordered closed Thursday for three days to a week in Mumbai, the commercial and financial capital of the country, as fear of the pandemic spread.Prajakata Lavangare, a spokeswoman for the government of Maharashtra state of which Mumbai is the capital, said similar orders were issued in Pune, which is also located in the state.The woman who died in Bangalore was identified only as Roopa, a teacher in...

Tennis: Clijsters wins US Open, second time

NEW YORK: Kim Clijsters of Belgium won the US Open on Sunday by defeating Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark 7-5, 6-3 in the final.She is the first mother to win a Grand Slam title since Evonne Goolagong in 1980, the victory coming just five weeks after she returned to the sport following a 27-month retirement. She was the first wildcard, man or woman, to win a US Open title in the history of the tournament.

42 killed in wave of Iraq bombings

BAGHDAD: At least 42 people were killed and nearly 100 wounded in a spate of bomb attacks near the restive northern Iraqi city of Mosul and in the capital Baghdad on Monday, police said. In the deadliest single attack, two booby-trapped lorries exploded before dawn in the village of Khaznah, east of Mosul, leaving 25 people dead and 70 others wounded. Thirty-five houses were destroyed in the village, which is home to members of the tiny Shabak community, a sect of Kurdish origin. In Baghdad, two car bombs went off as day labourers were gathering in the early morning hours looking for jobs.The first bomb exploded at Hay al-Amel, in the west of the capital, killing nine people and injuring 46. The second bomb attack in Shurta Arbaa in the north of the city killed seven people and wounded 35 others.