| How To Avoid Getting Mugged At An ATM |
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| Written by Sifu Trey Crake | |
| Saturday, 24 March 2007 | |
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How To Avoid Getting Mugged At An ATM
17 Safety Tips
When Using an ATM*
Following are 17 additional tips you should know on ATM safety provided by the Banking Council, and Corporate Travel Safety Website:
1) Always avoid using an ATM if there are suspicious looking characters around. Be aware of anyone sitting in a parked car in close proximity to the ATM.
2) If you do not feel safe at any time, press the ATM Cancel button, remove your card, and leave the area immediately.
3) Decline assistance from any person, even people who claim to be bank officials or police, but are not clearly identified as such.
4) Look out for con artists, in particular pleasant, helpful bystanders.
5) Prepare all transaction paperwork prior to your arrival at the ATM site. This will minimize the amount of time you spend at the ATM site.
6) Do not wear expensive jewelry or take other valuables to the ATM.
7) Report all suspicious persons or "incidents" to the bank or police.
8) If you use a drive-up ATM ensure your vehicle doors and windows are locked.
9) During the evening, take a companion, and park close to the ATM. If the area is not well lighted, then do not use the ATM.
10) Do not select an ATM at the corner of a building. Corners create a blind area that can increase the element of surprise by an assailant. Select an ATM located near the center of the building.
11) Identify an ATM with maximum natural surveillance and visibility from the surrounding area.
12) Select an ATM at a location void of barriers blocking the line of sight of the ATM. This includes shrubbery, signs and decorative partitions or dividers.
13) Select an ATM that is in a well-lighted location.
14) Whenever possible, select an ATM that is monitored or patrolled by a security officer.
15) Select an ATM with a wide-angle camera or a continuous-transaction surveillance camera.
16) Avoid ATM locations with large perimeter parking lots, and numerous ingress and egress points.
17) When leaving an ATM make sure you are not being followed, and if you are, drive immediately to a police station, sheriff or fire station, or to a crowded or well-lit location.
"And above all, get properly trained in the skills to protect yourself." "There is no better guarantee that you will emerge alive and in good health from a potentially lethal confrontation, than to get trained in the use of self-defensive tactics, both with the use of a weapon and without. Don't wait until it happens, at that point it's too late. You need to get properly trained ahead of time. That is your only real guarantee."
Just get the concept of this for a moment: You are approaching a machine that dispenses money in public. Typically, you are conducting this transaction alone, and sometimes at night. Security is almost non-existent, except for a video camera that is usually not being viewed in real-time. And, oh yes, there are strangers milling about. If this isn't a set-up for a crime scene, I don't know what is. But this is the environment we are putting ourselves into every time we go to an ATM to pull out money.
We see the stories on the news, of attackers victimizing ATM users, such as in Antioch, Tennessee, where a woman, just a couple weeks ago, was attacked and knocked unconscious at an ATM outside a bank. It happened at about 4 a.m. in the morning. The attacker knocked the 23-year-old woman unconscious as she got out of her car to use the ATM. When she awoke, the man was on top of her. The attacker robber her, apologized and then ran off, and is still at large.
No ATM environments are exactly the same. Some are in the front of the bank, some are on the side, some in the back. ATMs come sheltered with partitions and unsheltered. Prominent to view and recessed in entryways. Visible to the street and non-visible. Some have drive-up banking, some don't. And, of course, lighting varies, some well lit and others not so well lit.
And that is just the local environment, what about the neighborhoods they are within? Some neighborhoods where ATMs are located are very upscale, and others degenerate. So, for sure, not all ATMs are created equal. Or better said, the level of safety within the environment of each individual ATM differs to some small or large degree.
This is the first factor that should influence your decision on using an ATM. What is the environment like? Does it look safe? Does it feel safe? Do you have a sense that something is just not right about this location? If these are coming up negative, then find another ATM to use.
The second factor is how you function in the vicinity of the ATM. Are you aware of your environment? Are you keeping an eye out for potential trouble? Are you projecting a physical body language that would deter a potential predator, or are you setting yourself up as a choice target for attack?
Notice that both of these factors are modifiable by you. Criminals select out their victims and targets, and they certainly go the path of least resistance, the easiest prey.
"Criminals look for victims they can take by surprise." Says Dr. Ignatius Piazza, Founder and Director of Front Sight Resorts, the world's leading self-defense and personal-safety training school. "The element of surprise gives the criminal a distinct advantage, as they create a situation where you must react to them. Your reaction time gives the criminal two seconds or more to attack and disable you before you can mount any kind of response. That response can be a painful scream, fleeing or a defensive action."
"Criminals do telegraph their intentions. "If you feel a sense of danger, your are right. Don't ignore your instincts, react quickly by changing your behavior immediately, and move into a position of defense. And definitely make a lot of noise. Honk your horn, scream, attract the attention of others. A criminal wants an easy victim and no witnesses. Loud noises will attract witnesses and can prevent a crime
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| Last Updated ( Saturday, 26 September 2009 ) |
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