Beware the Attack ATM!
We all know being on tech support is a thankless stressful job, but nothing like having yourself pepper sprayed when trying to fix an ATM. Thats what happened in South Africa. ATMs there are weaponized with pepper spray, and deploy the spray when they detect any tampering.
The technology uses cameras to detect people tampering with the card slots. Another machine then ejects pepper spray to stun the culprit while police response teams race to the scene.
But the mechanism backfired in one incident last week when pepper spray was inadvertently inhaled by three technicians who required treatment from paramedics.
Patrick Wadula, spokesman for the Absa bank, which is piloting the scheme, told the Mail & Guardian Online: “During a routine maintenance check at an Absa ATM in Fish Hoek, the pepper spray device was accidentally activated.
Thats what I would qualify as a bad day.
