ATM SafetyPIN software

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards.
Please discuss this issue on the talk page or replace this tag with a more specific message.
This article has been tagged since January 2007 .

Invented by Joseph Zingher, (http://atmsafetypin.com), the software allows people to call the police by typing their personal identification number (PIN) in backwards. The idea is that if you are taken hostage in either a carjacking or a home invasion, driven to an ATM, forced to make an ATM withdrawal, you can call for help while appearing to only be getting money for the thief. Police in New York, [[New Jersey]Asbury Park Press, January 25th, 2006], [[Ohio] http://www.wlwt.com/news/2896611/detail.html], [[Illinois]St.Louis Post Dispatch, March 27th, 2005 ] and [[Kansas]"Wichita Eagle" April 19, 2001] have openly supported the concept.^{[citation needed]} Police support prompted the Illinois legislature to pass a law making it mandatory on all ATMs in the state. The law was changed shortly after it was passed by a "follow-on" bill that changed the meaning to the exact opposite of what they were seeking. (See St. Louis Post Dispatch, March 27, 2005) See http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/93/093-0898.htm and the final version of the amended law, 205 Illinois Compiled Statutes 616 section 50 subsection (i). http://ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=1192&ChapAct=205%26nbsp%3BILCS%26nbsp%3B616%2F&ChapterID=20&ChapterName=FINANCIAL+REGULATION&ActName=Electronic+Fund+Transfer+Act%2E

Zingher hasn't been very successful in marketing the software, and few banks have picked it up. Controversial laws making the software mandatory were discussed in Illinois and Kansas, but the bills were ultimately watered down.^[1] Contrary to assertions by Forbes, IBM holds no patent for an ATM emergency PIN system. US Patent 6679422 is for a secondary cash box to be loaded with marked bills in the event that an emergency PIN is used.

Joseph's struggle to get the idea put in place is discussed in a recent CNNMoney.com article.^[2]

A recent chain letter has been circulating via e-mail claiming that this very system is in place universally. That is factually inaccurate.^[3] American Banker reported on January 2, 2007, that, although the e-mail accurately describes Zingher's concept, it is not true of any ATM today.