Matt Scott

Ministry of Mis-Information

15 Jan, 2013 10:50

Today whilst perusing the drivel that normally adorns my Facebook updates page I noticed that one of my "friends" was promoting/re-posting a photo of a spoof article regarding PIN Entry whilst being mugged - the old chestnut or urban legend that typing your PIN in backwards will somehow be magically interpreted by the Bank's systems and immediately alert the police to your situation.

For those familiar with PIN Processing - it is quite plainly simply not possible for this to occur. The modern PIN Processes used are not reversible (in that they cannot derive the clear text PIN).

Photo of offending fake article attached (hopefully)...

Comments

Added: 16 January, 2013 - 10:44 | Murray Chapman - Zestex Computing Limited - Amersham

ATMs rely on 2 factor authentication - something you have (card) and something you know (PIN) making them pretty secure. The third factor is something you are (e.g. fingerprint, retinal print etc).

From a criminal perspective something you have = something I can steal, something you know = something I can beat out of you and something you are = something I can chop off you (see Demolition Man).

If someone's mugging you at an ATM give them the cash and your card and be glad that the ATM's not got a retinal scanner or finger print reader!

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Added: 16 January, 2013 - 10:53 | Matt Scott - ACI Worldwide - Watford

Quite right - the most you are going to lose (if you are lucky) is your maximum daily withdrawal limit - thats assuming you don't get declined (and in-turn stabbed in the process).