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From: mjr@osiris.UUCP (Marcus J. Ranum)
Newsgroups: sci.crypt
Subject: Re: Footnote to discussion of cameras in ATMs
Message-ID: <1440@osiris.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 25-Oct-87 09:44:20 EST
Article-I.D.: osiris.1440
Posted: Sun Oct 25 09:44:20 1987
Date-Received: Thu, 29-Oct-87 21:23:44 EST
References: <5560@jade.BERKELEY.EDU>
Organization: My Etch-A-Sketch runs X-Windows
Lines: 28
Summary: incredibly stupid...

In article <5560@jade.BERKELEY.EDU>, willis@violet.berkeley.edu (Willis Johnson) writes:

> You guessed it.  I lost mine and somebody used it. I won't tell
> you where they found the PIN! :-)  The guy used it four times to
> withdraw a total of $520 from my account.  The ATMs took a total
> of 18 clear photos of him. [...]

	What is *REALLY* incredible is that the fellow was so stupid as
to withdraw money using a stolen card and allow his face to be videotaped.
Of course, your typical crook is not too bright (or he'd be a politician 
and rip off more money, legally).

	Since the vid-cameras the ATMs have are pretty conspicuous, and
they aren't crew served, I don't see what they can do if someone walks
up wearing a big hat, stocking mask, or motorcycle helmet, and withdraws
money.

	In fact, I usually don't bother to take my full-face (smoked visor)
helmet off when I withdraw money, simply because I resent being on camera
when there are no signs to notify me that I am being recorded. Banks are
quite straightforward about this, and I appreciate it.

--mjr();
-- 
If they think you're crude, go technical; if they think you're technical,
go crude. I'm a very technical boy. So I get as crude as possible. These
days, though, you have to be pretty technical before you can even aspire
to crudeness...			         -Johnny Mnemonic