ATM SafetyPIN software

ATM SafetyPIN software is a software application that would allow users of automated teller machines (ATMs) to alert the police of a forced cash withdrawal by entering their personal identification number (PIN) in reverse order. The system was patented by Illinois lawyer Joseph Zingher (U.S. Patent 5,731,575).

SafetyPIN is not currently used in ATM systems, despite widely circulated rumors originating from a chain letter e-mail, mainly due to issues regarding reversible PINs being incompatible with the system and potential security vulnerabilities that could arise if implemented.

The concept of an alternative emergency PIN system, or duress code, for ATM systems has been around since at least July 30, 1986, when Representative Mario Biaggi, a former police officer, proposed it in the U.S. Congressional Record, pp. 18232 et seq. Biaggi then proposed House Resolution 785 in 1987 which would have had the FBI track the problem of express kidnappings and evaluate the idea of an emergency PIN system. HR785 died in committee without debate.

Zingher has not been successful in marketing licenses for his patent. Police in New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Illinois, and Kansas have supported the concept. Police support prompted the Illinois legislature to pass a law making it mandatory on all ATMs in Illinois. The law was changed shortly after it was passed by a "follow-on" bill that changed the meaning to the exact opposite of what they were seeking.

In 2006, an e-mail chain letter hoax circulated that claimed a reverse PIN duress code system is in place universally.American Banker reported on January 2, 2007 that no PIN-reversal duress code is used on any ATM as of that date. In September 2013 the hoax was still circulating in Australia with the text:

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