Robbery and express kidnappings in ATMs are growing crimes in Brazil, affecting millions of people every year. Criminals take the victims by force to one or multiple ATMs to withdraw the maximum amount of cash they have. And if the victim is reluctant to hand over the money, he could lose his life.
We created a simple and safe solution to prevent express kidnapping and ATM robberies: a plug-in designed to be installed in the software of any ATM, allowing users to create an alternate pin code to be used in emergency situations.
When the pin code for the bank account is registered, the user has the option of registering a second combination, to be used only in extreme circumstances.Whenever the emergency code is inserted, a silent protocol is activated, alerting our security center that a crime is in progress, without arousing the suspicion of the criminals.Using the emergency number, the money is released normally. But an ATM’s built-in camera and the bank’s security system take photographs that are sent to our center, which alerts the authorities to the exact location that the crime is taking place.Regardless of the client’s account balance, just a small part of it is shown, drastically reducing the chances of the victim staying under the kidnapper’s power. In the event that the kidnapping continues, an App installed in the victim’s mobile phone reports their location in real time, allowing authorities to trace and safely rescue them.
This idea had the power to start ending a kind of crime. It makes the criminals begin to look for alternate strategies to commit their crimes and, until now, they haven't found them. Also, this silent alert is helping police to catch thieves, decreasing the number of kidnappings and saving people's lives, adding a unique value to our brand.