Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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small piece of paper with 3 4-digit numbers written on it

 cunning, eh?
  (+65, -1)(+65, -1)(+65, -1)
(+65, -1) 		  [vote for,
against]

I'm going to put a small piece of paper with 3 4-digit numbers written on it carefully folded up in my wallet. If anyone steals my wallet they'll find this and think "Aha! This must be where he writes down his PIN numbers" (wallet thieves are notoriously prone to errors of speech such as "PIN numbers").
The thief will then try to get cash out of an ATM with my cards in preference to going on a spending spree, but will lose the cards in the ATM.
—hippo, Oct 13 2003

Obligitory Goons Link http://www.thegoons...ripts/punch-up.html
Scroll down to the pink bit [yamahito, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

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       "Curses!" they'll yell as they shake their fists at you, pophi.
—waugsqueke, Oct 13 2003
   

       Not bad. Is it three tries the machines give you? Are they all the same?   

       I just thought about those ATMs with the card swipe rather than the card insert. Still, +, because the swipers aren't very common.
—swamilad, Oct 13 2003
   

       Good point. Depends on where you go - swipers are very common in my area. There goes one now.
—waugsqueke, Oct 13 2003
   

       - "Hey [Rods], what's the time?"
- "Hang on, I'm just looking in my wallet"
—hippo, Oct 13 2003
   

       thanks hippo, the title made me laugh before I opened it up. I thought it was something to do with telling the time.
—po, Oct 13 2003
   

       Just write "PIN number" on the one you use, and write "Fake PIN for crooks" on the other.
—Cedar Park, Oct 13 2003
   

       panic pin in the middle.
—po, Oct 13 2003
   

       So the piece of paper is a clock that's right six times a day?
—FarmerJohn, Oct 13 2003
   

       [FJ] Or up to 22 times per day if you don't worry about the reading left-to-right thing. Or more if you don't worry about continuity.
—Worldgineer, Oct 13 2003
   

       When I first got my bank card I found it really hard to remember the PIN number. Solved the problem by adding a couple of random numbers to the front of it and writing it down in the form of a phone number. I've still got a "Mr. B. Card" in my address book. I'm nothing if not subtle...
—lostdog, Oct 13 2003
   

       What a terrific idea; I shall employ it right now.+ Thanks, hippo.
—pitah, Oct 13 2003
   

       + on the case. Will be using [mrburns'] numbers.
—jonthegeologist, Oct 14 2003
   

       don't you dare put 22 up.
—po, Oct 14 2003
   

       Where can I buy one?
—-alx, Oct 14 2003
   

       4283 2 286!
—Don Quixote, Oct 14 2003
   

       Why don't you write the fake pin directly on the card thiefs are prone to be stupid :>
—FireBath, Oct 14 2003
   

       [FireBath] How would the thief read the fake PIN once it was in the machine?
—hazel, Oct 14 2003
   

       I believe he thinks the thief is not *so* stoopid that he cannot remember 4 digits.
—po, Oct 14 2003
   

       + good idea, and, if the atm people would handle the confiscated card with latex gloves, they would have the fingerprints of the wallet thief. mread4
—mread4, Oct 14 2003
   

       erm, they'll think "That's a coincidence - we both have the same PIN number"

[lostdog] - and if you want to keep a phone number secret, then you can hide it in these 3 fake PINs
—hippo, Oct 15 2003
   

       If you try two fake PINs, hit cancel to get the card back, then reinsert the card, does the machine remember that this is the same card and keep it after only one incorrect PIN, or does it give you three more tries?
—scad mientist, Oct 15 2003
   

       Very clever idea, [hippo]. Where can I buy one of these? +
—k_sra, Oct 15 2003
   

       I'm going to play Russian roulette with my numbers.. write 6 numbers on the peice of paper and one of them is the real PIN so i have a 1 in 6 chance of having money stolen from me if i lose my wallet.   

       Life is as exciting as you make it.
—MrKangaroo, Oct 15 2003
   

       Wow, [Mr.Kangaroo] you're making me want to go out and steal wallets/purses ...   

       "These hands - I can't get them off my wrists!!"
—Letsbuildafort, Oct 15 2003
   

       Video recording of Perp smacking forehead at ATM should prove riotous on (your country)'s Stupidest Criminals.
—thumbwax, Oct 15 2003
   

       oh, nevermind
—sweepea, Oct 15 2003
   

       yeah, but, but, what if they're a halfbakery reader and therefore know what you're up to. All of a sudden you've dramatically increased their odds of guessing the correct one.

(I may have slightly exaggerated the change in the odds here).
—neilp, Oct 15 2003
   

       hello [ponysforall] - some people don't have the internet, and are waiting for the HB on MP3..
—neilp, Oct 15 2003
   

       I don't see any ponies.
—k_sra, Oct 16 2003
   

       oh buggar, neilp has started hallucinating.
—po, Oct 16 2003
   

       Your "personal identification number number" ?
—MrKangaroo, Oct 17 2003
   

       I can just imagine the news story.   

       "The number of Liverpool personal identification number number numbers showed a steep rise today with a number of innocent citizens falling victim to Liverpool personal identification number number thieves..."
—MrKangaroo, Oct 17 2003
   

       [pitah] has baked this now.
—wombat, Oct 17 2003
   

       I love simple little ideas like this. Short, simple, easy, efective. Like the first person to put the door key under the door mat. An exellent idea until it became so widespread no one would think of doing it. Therefor, By the power of lambs everywhere bestowed upon me. Everyone who has read this must take a vow to never speak of this to anyone. By penalty of your own conscience. :P
—thelambs, Oct 17 2003
   

       Excellent idea, just to confusticate them further Im gonna write the numbers in another language....
—rumbletumbler, Oct 18 2003
   

       why not just keep your wallet in your front pocket on your thigh. this way its harder for people to steal. and to further insure your wallets safety have deep pockets and try not to bump into people.
—Space-Pope, Oct 18 2003
   

       and don't go out and seal up the windows and keep a half-brick under your pillow..
—po, Oct 18 2003
   

       Brilliant! +
—Dently, Oct 18 2003
   

       Man, you can't go wrong on a PIN idea with this crowd.
—waugsqueke, Oct 18 2003
   

       No, it's a PIN NUMBER idea....
—Dently, Oct 18 2003
   

       Yeah, I'm thinking of posting some sort of generic PIN # idea before the bandwagon leaves...
—RayfordSteele, Oct 18 2003
   

       Wow, such a good idea I'm actually gonna do it :)
—Rcomian, Oct 19 2003
   

       Stupid> they take the wallet either 1. knowing your pin already, as they have been stalking you making atm purchases at various locations (this foils the idea) and 2.atms world wide now take those handy cards as "credit" and they don't need a pin and in most cases neither an identity.
—CrownVic, Oct 19 2003
   

       What? I have never heard of your #2, CrownVic. ATMs that don't use PINs?
—waugsqueke, Oct 19 2003
   

       Sure, if they have a visa or mastercard logo (cheque card style) they can use it anywhere that takes credit, therefore not needing a pin to verifiy the user.
—CrownVic, Oct 19 2003
   

       Sorry, not ATMs. Cash back at any location. . .
—CrownVic, Oct 19 2003
   

       In the US, you need a PIN to get cash back anywhere. Without a PIN you can use it as a regular credit card to make purchases, but that's it.   

       Frankly I've never understood why credit cards don't use PINs also. Seems a no-brainer to me.
—waugsqueke, Oct 19 2003
   

       Credit cards require a PIN to be typed in at the point of sale in France (and Northampton, UK) - they'll soon require this in the rest of the UK.
—hippo, Oct 19 2003
   

       In the US, you can just insert your credit card into the gas pump, and away you go. Wonder how they got away with no signature requirements?
—RayfordSteele, Oct 19 2003
   

       ATM: "Please enter the four digit number of your personal identification PIN.
Customer: “Stupid piece a...”
   

       |:::4242:::|
|:::3425:::|
|:::4323:::|
   

       Customer: “Hehehe” [X] "three-ee" [X] "two-oo" [X] "two- oo" [X] "Thr-"
ATM: "Ah, 'The Little Engine That Could'...
Customer: “What the..?”
ATM: “Will this be a deposit or a withdrawal?”
Customer: [X] (Withdrawal)




Customer: [X]! (Withdrawal) “…Jeeze”




Customer: [X]! [X]!! [X]!!!

ATM: “Please press [enter] after your selection.”
Customer: [enter]! [enter]! [enter]!
ATM: “Please enter the amount.”
Customer: [3] [0] [0] .[0] [0]
ATM: “You want to withdraw $300.00. Yes [?] or No[?]”
Customer: [YYYYEEEESSSS]!
ATM: “Yes [Y]! or No [N]!”
Customer: !?&#!!#@! [Y]! [Y]! [Y]! <sobbing> “Pleeeze?”
ATM: “Thank you, [Mr. Burns], please wait.”
Customer: “!?&#!!#@!”
ATM: “Mr. Burns, we've a problem with that amount.”
Customer: “!?&#!!#@!” <stomp stomp stomp><thump thump thump><sobs>
Next-in-line: “Hey lady, you okay?”
—Tiger Lily, Oct 19 2003
   

       That's really good.   

       I have just read the "panic pin" idea.   

       So, they can be combined: a bank can issue you, on your request, a "stolen pin number". You carry it in your wallet. In case that it is stolen the bad guy tries it, and the bank is alarmed. The good guys get the guy.   

       No, not too practical..
—Danny_, Feb 18 2004
   

       In the US, if you try to fill up twice within 24 hours, the credit card company calls you (unintended alliteration.)
—yabba do yabba dabba, Feb 18 2004
   

       why don't you just write down "you moron, you'll never get away with it !!!" on a piece of paper to keep in your wallet ??
—sweet, Feb 18 2004
   

       [FarmerJohn] "So the piece of paper is a clock that's right six times a day?"   

       Better than most clocks, which are never right.
—berg, Feb 18 2004
   

       Six times a day? How about 2 times?
—zigness, Feb 18 2004
   

       ...and the annual cost of ATM machines ruined.
—Worldgineer, Feb 18 2004
   

       I think that's the funniest line I've ever read.   

       Anyway +1 for the idea.
—MuddyBuddy, Feb 21 2004
   

       Tantalise the thief. Put your real number fourth in the list.
—Docker D, Feb 21 2004
   

       woo, i didn't read thru all of that but maybe the banks could register a panic pin or "eat me" pin when you set your real pin. then instead of 3 tries it only takes 1 try with the "eat me" pin to have the instant teller confiskate the card and call the fuz. Maybe the instant teller could lock the door or just squirt RFID tags all over the thief.
—WhiteWiz, Mar 07 2004
   

       I have nothing useful to add to thuis except that I am still giggling. Also, I think there is something wrong with my piece of paper - It never tells the right time.   

       :::::2599:::::   

       :::::7258:::::   

       :::::6116:::::
—stimpy, Mar 12 2004
   

       COMBINE this with PANIC-PIN HALFBACKED IDEA and call me to watch them at ATM when the police is coming.
—ing_mk, Jun 07 2004
   

       The bank needs to take the card and not spit it out the first time. The bank needs to be notified when the ATM card is lost, so they take the card the moment it is inserted. This won't work with swipe only ATM kiosks. The Swipe only ATMs should tell the theif to go to the nearest non-swipe only ATM card. (+) for the idea. Too bad you won't make millions and richtire
—Porsche911, Jun 08 2004
   

       why would anyone vote agenst this idea? It is the greatestes idea on the site
—youngtimer, Jun 12 2004
   

       I enjoyed this idea. [+] It shall be employed when I find some paper... if not for anything more than a conversation piece, it still succeeds.
—Cheekio, Jun 13 2004
   

       Yeah, but it doesn't work if everyone does it. Even grammatically challenged thieves will catch on eventually. Especially if you publish the idea on a web site.
—DrBob, Jun 14 2004
   

       Write long string of numbers as a circle. So the first and last number touch and in the circle is your PIN. Or how about a grid, a bit like a magic square? Lotsa combinations.
—BWard, Jun 21 2004
   

       Where do circles begin?
—yabba do yabba dabba, Jun 21 2004
   

       Exactly. If you have a hard to remember PIN (say fourteen digits or something) then you could write it in a circle and as long as you remembered the first couple digits in the series. All your digits would be there in the right order but where they start nobody else knows.
—BWard, Jun 21 2004
   

       This is sooooo baked.   

       By me, in my wallet, for years.   

       Oh, by the way, i've ignored this for ages because I read it as "thirty-four digit". I couldn't figue out how anyone'd be fooled by it.   

       Good job I'm not a pickpocket - if I'd found that bit of paper I'd have spent the next 17 years trying to figure out what it was.
—lemon tetra, Jun 23 2004
   

       The best ideas are the simplest. Fraud prevention is an ironic thing since the supposed methods of preventing fraud are mostly weak.   

       Love the panic pin idea, coupled with very high quality cameras in the ATM enter panic pin and get some mug shots of their gormless expression as the ATM spouts "which do you prefer fleas or CHEESE!" --SNAP   

       HMM link that camera to a computer recognition system and wherever he/she shows their face the fuzz is on it in minutes.
—not-arf, Jun 23 2004
   

       LOL--- I love the idea & love reading everyone's comments as well! I especially loved the idea to change the #'s on your residence! ROTFLMAO!!
—loisangel76, Jun 23 2004
   

       FLOAS!   

       AODHW!   

       JUMAP!   

       These mean:   

       Flatten loose onions at sunrise!   

       Any old ditch has water!   

       Just under monkeys are poopoo!
—DesertFox, Jun 23 2004
   

       Rolling On The Floor Laughing My Arse/Ass off   

       nice idea. shame it is easy to do yourself so you won't make any cash out of it....   

       new user btw - hi everyone!
—mmmmdonuts, Jun 24 2004
   

       Ah, you have one of those convertable Arse/Ass things? I find mine very useful, you never know when you need a donkey.
—harderthanjesus, Jun 24 2004
   

       Yes, but you can only laugh it off so many times before its feelings get hurt. Mine's been sulking in the corner for at least six months now. Attempted reconciliations have so far proved futile. Damned ass....
—blueturtle, Jul 12 2004
   

       woo - mine's the first vote (again).
—neilp, Oct 07 2004
   

       2nd
—po, Oct 07 2004
   

       I've added four but I'm not telling you which is the realone.
—egbert, Oct 07 2004
   

       Rebunninated. +++
—sartep, Oct 07 2004
   

       Fourteenth. Well behind the cutting edge.
—david_scothern, Oct 13 2004
   

       17th for this idea I immediately fully baked. Like the halfbaked croissants in my supermarket, it takes only two minutes to bake them.   

       In my archives I even found the piece of paper from the bank with the PIN I received when I got my card. At the time I immediately changed it into my preferred PIN, but this paper has a good use now!   

       Next to the PIN printed on the paper I have added another PIN and with a different pencil a third one in the corner.   

       This will confuse the thief: "Did he change his PIN? Are these the PINs for the other cards in this wallet? Which PIN is the latest? Which belongs to which card?"   

       I have 6 cards in my wallet that have PINs. This will drive the thief nuts...
—rrr, Oct 18 2004
   

       I also baked this after reading the idea.
—Zimmy, May 07 2005
   

       [+] brilliant, brilliant,...
—vedarshi, May 08 2005
   

       [+] This idea needs more publicity.
—eight_nine_tortoise, Mar 12 2009
   

       I don't know what it's like in other countries, but I think it may now be obsolete in the U.S. It's very difficult to get an ATM card that is not a credit-system debit card as well.   

       It's also the kind of thing that only works if you're the exception. If it were to become common, thieves will just switch tactics and routinely take you along to the ATM.
—partdavid, Mar 12 2009
   

       I'm pretty sure I saw someone else suggest this very idea somewhere else the other day, perhaps even the very same day it would have first appeared on my 'untouched in 10 years' view, had I looked.
—notexactly, Mar 14 2019
   

       You could always have four 4-digit numbers instead of just 3, written on consecutive lines, such that the actual PINs for your [four] different cards are read from top to bottom.
—MaxwellBuchanan, Mar 14 2019
   

       It should turn into an expresso machine and shoot hot coffee on them
—bob, Mar 15 2019
   


 

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