Guess They Don't Have Toasters Anymore
from the cheap-cheap-cheap dept
A 17-year-old in England discovered an ATM at his bank had been rigged with a fake front used by crooks to record card information and PIN numbers, and after ripping it off, was chased by the thieves that had put it there. He managed to get away, and his act saved the bank countless hassles and probably quite a bit of money. How did they thank him? By sending him a cheap plastic calculator (via Digg). Funnily enough, it was the same bank that we reported yesterday was removing clocks from their branches so people couldn't tell how long they'd been waiting in line. They could have at least sent him a clock, since they've probably got plenty of extras.Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
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toast?
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Re: toast?
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Re: toast?
Way, way back in the old days banks would give out toasters (or other various and sundry cheapie swag) to people that came in and opened a new account. Apparently, back then, your average Joe Consumer would think "hey, I gotta open a savings and/or checking account somewhere, so I may as well get an appliance out of the deal!"
Of course, now we are much more sophisticated consumers. A toaster? Bah! Now we think to ourselves "which bank out there has the lowest in ATM fees, monthly service fees, overdraft fees, and is least likely to invent new and innovative ways to sap money out of my already meager account?"
See, things are much better nowadays.
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???
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Dilema
- give the guy something cheap and not so attractive, but something, as a sign of gratitude
- give the guy a laptop or a good amount of cash and make half of US browse arount ATM machines, ripping them appart, and risk being kidnapped by the thieves, and the bank then risk being sued for encouraging this.
Woa, I'd give the cheap calculator...
Also, it's smarter to call the police or inform the bank immediately instead of playing Rambo and then whining about your free gift being cheap.
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Which is scarier?
Suposidly, these people can tell a fake bill just by touching it. You would think that they would be able to detect that something isn't quite right about the ATM machine.
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