Better ATMs mean better targets

While Wells Fargo is busy telling all it's customers how great their new ATMs are I have a feeling that common criminals are rubbing their hands. The new ATMs are really convenient - you can stand there in the street feeding your deposits in dollar by dollar, check by check, the machine even scans the checks and figures out how much they are for, including a copy on your deposit slip. That's real nice. Unfortunately it doesn't always work and checks get spat back and stacks of bills take, well stacks of time to deposite. Fortunately for Joe Criminal that means more people standing long by and ATM, cash in hand not paying attention while they cuss and kick at the hole in the wall.

You know why Wells Fargo did this - someone calculated how much money they waste on those pesky deposit envelopes, and all that staff time restocking their machines with more of them. In the mean time they get to sell the idea based on convenience. However no one ever bothered to stop and think about your average customer in anything less than a nice safe location. My money is on an increase in ATM related crime, its only a matter of time before banks are backing away from the glorified photocopier based ATMs.

My money is still on digital cash. One thing I didn't point out in the previous post - just because I favor digital cash doesn't mean I'm against anonymity. Surprisingly digital cash can be not only secure, but also anonymous as well. Of course your government doesn't want you to know that but its true, just ask any encryption expert. So you could have your secure digital cash and spend it - with impunity.