Entering ATM PIN backward won’t alert police

This Nov. 29, 2018, file photo shows an ATM in Philadelphia. On Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2022, The Associated Press reported on false online claims that entering an ATM PIN backward would trigger security features. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

CLAIM: If a thief forces you to take money out of any ATM, you can punch in your PIN backward and the machine will immediately alert the police, take photos of the suspect and withdraw the cash but keep it stuck in the slot.

AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. No known ATM in the United States has this feature, according to ATM security experts. A similar system was patented in the late 1990s, but it has never been widely implemented.

THE FACTS: Entering your ATM PIN backward won’t activate any security features, despite a years-old urban myth that resurfaced online this week.

“If a thief forces you to take money out of an ATM, do not argue or resist,” read a series of Instagram posts that amassed tens of thousands of views on Wednesday. “What you do is punch in your pin # backwards. EX: If its 1234, you’ll type 4321. When you do that, the money will come out but will be stuck in the slot. The machine will immediately alert the local police without the robbers knowledge & begin taking photos of the suspect. Every ATM has this feature. Stay safe.”

Contrary to this persistent rumor, experts are unaware of any ATMs in the U.S. with security features such as these, according to David Tente, president of the ATM Security Association.

The claim is an “urban legend,” said Tiffini Bloniarz, senior manager of communications at the ATM manufacturer Diebold Nixdorf.

An attorney named Joseph Zingher patented a similar security system called “SafetyPIN” in 1998, according to a 2010 report from the Federal Trade Commission. The reverse-PIN system he devised would allow reversed or altered PIN entries to register as a distress signal, instructing an ATM to call the police. However, while Zingher pitched his idea to banks in several states, “his attempts were unsuccessful,” the report said.

The FTC’s report, which was created as a requirement of the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009, examined the cost-effectiveness of implementing these kinds of emergency systems. It found that “emergency-PIN technologies likely would not have a large impact on ATM crime.”

Legislators in some states, including Illinois, Kansas and Georgia, have introduced bills to require this type of technology. But those have not passed into law, the report said.

Tente said the idea of a reverse-PIN security system “has many flaws.”

“For example, what if your PIN is 7337 or some other number that is the same backwards or forwards?” he asked.

To increase security around ATMs, Diebold Nixdorf recommends installing proper lighting and cameras in and around the machines, Bloniarz said. ATM users who want to protect their information should avoid writing down their PINs anywhere, using ATMs that don’t look secure and throwing away receipts near an ATM, she said.

Tente added that ATM users should be aware of their surroundings and anyone lurking nearby.

This is part of AP’s effort to address widely shared misinformation, including work with outside companies and organizations to add factual context to misleading content that is circulating online. Learn more about fact-checking at AP.