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Is the Camera on your ATM a Fake?Jan 05, 2012 (KDAF-TV - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Cindy, who wishes to conceal her identity, said she was mugged in a parking lot -- her purse, and all its contents stolen. "As I was leaning in to get my bag of groceries, somebody driving through the parking lot brushed up against me with the mirror on his car, and reached out of his car and grabbed my groceries and my purse and took off, Cindy said. "Cash, a pair of diamond earrings that my father gave me, all my credit cards, everything." Cindy remembered the theives as a male and female, both African American and in their 30's, but she was hopeful police would get a better description of the suspects. She said, "They attempted to use one of my credit cards at an ATM. And, I'm like, 'Well, good. You're gonna have a nice close-up of their face.'" But, that wasn't the case. "When I talked to the detective who was investigating the case, he told me that the camera that was on this ATM machine was fake," Cindy said. Police told Cindy it's common for businesses to use fake cameras near ATM machines. "Like most of America," she said, "I just assumed that they were monitored." SpyCentre Security's Michael Dear said many of his clients buy fake or "dummy" cameras to enhance real camera surveillance systems, but he doens't always recommend it. "Most commercial clients, there's some potential liability, I believe, and we don't recommend using the dummy cameras on a commercial setting where there's perceived security issues," Dear said. And, many consumers think an ATM is a place where security should definitely be heightened. Sarah Ball said, "I would think that at an ATM particularly, it's taken for granted that there's some sort of surveillance going on." After withdrawing money from an ATM machine, Jasmine Hurd said, "I think it's wrong. They should have cameras around the ATM. Anything can happen if there's not a real camera around." Cindy said she worries the fake cameras create a false sense of security. She said, "If you go to an ATM and it's kind of deserted, you think 'Well, if they do something to me, at least the camera will catch it. But, that's not the case." Most survelliance cameras at bank-owned ATM's are real. Cindy said, "The small, fly-by-night atms that you see in bars, hotels, restaurants, convenience stores, a lot of times those do not have real cameras." ___ (c)2012 KDAF-TV (Dallas) Visit KDAF-TV (Dallas) at www.the33tv.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |