I found a great article on Pinterest the other day (actually I found MANY great articles, which is why I’m writing this today rather than the other day when I was SUPPOSED to be writing instead of looking at PINTEREST!).
It was an article that said if you are being forced to withdraw money from an ATM, just punch in your PIN in reverse rather than forward (example – 4321 instead of 1234) and the ATM would let your money come partway out but then it would lock up so the money couldn’t be pulled out all the way. Not only would it do that, the ATM would also notify the local police department that there was a crime in progress at that ATM machine. By the way, before I go any farther, NEVER use “1234” or “4321” as your PIN code! Don’t make it easy for crooks to figure it out, OK?
The article also said that this feature is built into EVERY ATM for safety purposes and that you should share this article with everyone you know.
“Oh My Gosh! That is AWESOME! I must tell everyone!” I thought immediately.
So I started with my wife Penny. I told her and she calmly said “that’s cool, but you should probably make sure it’s true before telling everyone.”
“Hey, wait a minute,” I thought to myself, “I’m normally the calm logical thinker. What kind of Twilight Zone episode am I experiencing here?” So in the interest of my ego, I chose to agree with her as though it had been my plan all along.
Uh-oh, if she reads this, I’m busted! Oh well, it would probably come out sooner or later. She already knows she’s the smart one anyway (and for those of you who have met us, you know it too).
So I sat back down at my computer, avoided the temptation to click on a few more Pinterest articles, and started researching the “reverse ATM PIN” trick.
What did I find out? Its BOGUS. It’s a great idea though.
Check out this link to find out more about it: ATM Pin Article
Since that “great idea” is not a REAL thing, what CAN you do? Well, as our parents and grandparents told us, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure (if you’re not in the U.S., just substitute whatever the appropriate metric units are).
We believe prevention (also called “avoidance”) works in almost EVERY situation. That’s why 75% of our classes in personal protection are about how to AVOID trouble while the other 25% is dedicated to the physical training to neutralize a bad guy. So start by checking out our introductory course – Situational Awareness 101 (Shecret Agent). It covers the most basic and most important skill for AVOIDING trouble: situational awareness.
You’ve probably heard that phrase more times than you can count (“situational awareness”). But if you still don’t even know what it means or how to have it, you’re not alone! Most women don’t get exposed to that kind of training unless they are in law enforcement, the military, or some particular sports. So we made this course just for you. HOW to be aware, HOW to improve your awareness without being paranoid, WHAT to be aware of, and WHAT to do with the knowledge your newly increased awareness has given you.
If you could only take ONE of our courses, I would want you to take this one. Learning to be situationally aware can keep you out of trouble and can help you to survive if you DO get into trouble. You can take this course at one of our scheduled classes OR you can have us come out and teach it at your place of business (or school, or church, or organization) for all the women there.
So, stay aware and stay safe. I hope to see you in a class soon. And try to avoid Pinterest on days you REALLY have to get some work done!
(Update: Some of our programs have changed. Subscribe to our email list to stay up to date.)
Until next time,
Cranford
*Bonus: Don’t ever be afraid in a parking lot again! Get your free guide on how to use Situational Awareness to stay safe. “5 Steps Anyone Can Do to Navigate a Parking Lot Safely.” Click here to get your guide!
