In this era of viral messages, I was drawn to a Facebook post today suggesting that a reversal of your pin in an ATM machine, would still result in the ATM paying you and wait for it……notify the police that you were being made to make the withdrawal by Armed Robbers. Once the Police gets the notification they immediately get on the trail of the Armed Robbers. Laughable as this may seem something inside kinda hoped it was true. See post below’
Well, as expected some in Nigeria are already sharing this and hoping it goes viral without verifying the authenticity of this message. As good a deed as this may sound, it is not the right thing to do. This is what I thought once I saw it. First, the Nigerian Police does not respond to an armed robbery incident immediately not the least an ATM one. And then Crime Stoppers is a foreign website which means the guideline regulating ATM withdrawals over there may not be applicable here. Finally, I checked the webisite to see if this is true in the UK or wherever it may be obtainable anywhere else and guess what?? The website denies it completely. They intact let our a disclaimer saying;
“We have been alerted to a hoax email that has been circulating purporting to originate from Crimestoppers. It claims that if you enter your pin number in reverse into a cash point the police will be sent to your location. This information is not true. This email did not originate with Crimestoppers. It’s content is false.”
So please whenever you come across emails or viral messages like this make do to confirm before spreading it. You might actually be endangering someone’s life when you think you are trying to save one.
