You can add your PIN number in reverse and alert the nearest police station if you are being robbed at the ATM
Occurred in Sri Lanka on Sept. 20, 2021 at 9:57 a.m.
Reported by Nishadi Gunatilake via Internet on Sept. 21, 2021 at 3:22 p.m.
Reported by Nishadi Gunatilake via Internet on Sept. 21, 2021 at 3:22 p.m.
# Robbery
# ATM
This report is Confirmed false
and is of
Low Priority.
Here is why -
The reverse PIN system was first imagined in 1994 and patented in 1998 by Joseph Zingher. His imaginary SafetyPIN System would alert police that a crime was in progress when a cardholder at an ATM keyed in the reverse of their personal identification number. The flip-flopped PIN would serve as a “panic code” that sent a silent alarm to police to notify them that an ATM customer was acting under duress. However, this still remains an unimplemented concept.
The police had also informed an external fact checker that there is no such method in Sri Lanka. Channa de Silva, the Chief Executive Officer at Lanka Clear, the company which handles ATMs in Sri Lanka under the supervision of the Central Bank had also confirmed that there is no such method available in Sri Lanka. Read the external fact check here (Sinhala): https://srilanka.factcrescendo.com/2021/09/22/entering-atm-pin-number-in-reverse-would-not-alert-the-police/.