A.T.M DIVINATION
(ANOTHER TOTALLY MENTAL DIVINATION)
Art Vanderlay
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Copyright Art Vanderlay 2015 © No part of this publication can be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written consent of the author which he will never give so don’t even bother. NOT FOR RESALE.
A.T.M Divination
(Another Totally Mental Divination) Pin number divinations have become quite a popular effect for magicians and mentalists in recent years. The ability to hack into one of the most private part of a participants life is just too desirable for any magician or mentalist.
The fact that our lives are protected by just four numbers is quite scary. If someone were to access your phones pin number they would most likely have access to your Facebook app, Email app, banking app, photos, videos, contacts and so much more. Only four simple digits protect you from total identity theft.
If someone were able to discover your banking pin number too, they could clear out your entire account, cause you to become heavily into debt and even steal your identity. In this day and age it is becoming easier and easier to be able to steal someones identity. With all this in mind I strongly urge you to treat this effect with the proper respect that it deserves. ALWAYS gain permission before you perform any form of pin divination and ensure that the participant changes it afterwards. You never know who is watching your performance.
Normally when I perform pin divination effects I frame them so that it is the particpant who is able to divine my pin number, not the other way around. This ensures that their privacy is kept in tact and due to the methods I use, my pin number is never actually divined. My identity is safe.
So why have I decided to release yet ANOTHER pin divination into the market? Well mine has certain advantages that others do not: It is easy to do, nothing is ever written down, there is no set up or preshow, it is 100% impromptu and it involves no maths whatsoever. It also has some disadvantages to other effects on the market: This must be performed outside and you never actually tell the participant their pin number. Personally I think the positives greatly outweigh the negatives. With all that said, let’s have a look at the effect!
EFFECT Whilst performing street magic for a group of people you mention the fact that our entire lives are protected by just four simple digits. If someone were to discover our phones pin code for example, they would have the ability to access to our Facebook accounts, Email accounts, banking apps, contacts, photos, videos and so much more.
Much the same, if someone were to be able to discover someones banking pin number, they would be able to clear out their entire account, take them heavily into debt and commit severe identity theft.
Identity theft is now even easier as modern technology advances and people become more dependant on it. People will always find ingenious new ways around the system.
You approach someone and ask if it is acceptable for you to attempt to divine their banking pin number. With some hesitiation they agree.
“Thank you, I promise thats I won’t steal all of your money. Just most of it!” You request for them to place their bank card into an ATM machine.
“Although, if I were able to access your bank account, what would be the maximum ammount I would be able to draw out?” The participant replies that they only have £15 in their account.
“Damn, I should have selected someone else! Nevermind. Most banks allow you to draw out a maximum of £250 a day and I’m counting on you having an overdraft!” You request for the participant to concentrate on their pin number but to not say it out loud.
After some mentalism mumbo jumbo, (Idiomotor reading, telepathy, syncronicity or whatever presentation you want to frame your mind reading as) you enter four digits into the ATM machine.
“If I have been sucessfull at reading your mind, once you press the “Enter” button the ATM will give me access to your entire bank account. However, if I have not been sucessfull then it will ask me to enter a different pin number. Please press “Enter” for me now, sealing your fate in my hands.” The participant presses the “Enter” button. The ATM instantly gives you access to their bank account!
“Fantatstic! Let’s withdraw all your money!”
You press the “Withdraw Cash” option bringing up the screen with different demoninations to choose from. You press “Other Ammount” which brings up the screen where you can manually enter an ammount of money to withdraw. You type in £250.
Your finger hovers over the “Withdraw” button.
Looking around the group with a cheeky grin you ask someone if you should press it or if you should give the participant their bank card back. “Actually, I won’t be that mean. I think it would be best if I gave you your card back.” You cancel the trasaction and hand the bank card back to your participant.
“I won’t abuse your privacy even further and reveal your pin number out loud, however I do think that you should go and change your pin number straight away!” The participant instantly runs to the bank to change their pin number.
“Just remember, if I can do it, so can others. Make sure you are fully protected as my Dad once told me!”
METHOD This effect came to me commpletely by accident. Myself and the Mrs know each others pin nubers for our separate bank accounts. This is mainly so that she can send me to the shops without having to go herself and not based on mutual trust and love!
Whilst at the shops I went to the ATM, placed HER card into the machine and proceeded to enter MY pin number without concentrating. The main screen loaded up, I opted to withdraw money and pressed the £100 option. Only then did it inform me that I had entered the wrong pin number and requested for me to enter the correct one.
A “lightbulb moment” went off in my head at this moment. My mind was flooded with ideas of how to exploit this. Naturally a pin divination was the obvious way forward. So essentially the method is this: You enter ANY pin number that you like! It will instantly give you access to their account. There are a few options that you cannot do however; you are not able to access their balance, (although if you were able to this it would be highly rude and unprofessional), you cannot withdraw money, (Obviously) and you cannot alter anything in their account (Thankfully).
What the ATM will allow you to do however, is to access the “Wthdraw Money” screen where it displays the different denominations and also the screen where you can manually enter an ammount. Unless you press “Withdraw” then it appears that you have sucessfully hacked into their bank account.
There is something that I should mention: This effect works on 98% of ATMs. Normally, ATMs will keep your card throughout the entire transaction and only return it to you just before your money is dispensed. These are the type that you need to use for this effect to work. There are a few ATMs out there that return your card before you are asked to enter your pin, if it does this then the effect will NOT work. It is advisable to find out what type of ATMs are in your local area before you attempt this.
The reason behind this is that normally the ATM only reads the black strip on the back of the card which gives access to the ATM. Once you request the money the ATM will then scan the chip and confirm the pin number. The ATMs that do not work with this effect scan the chip straight away and then return your card to you as the pin number has already been checked before you are required to enter it.
Thankfully the ATMs that this effect does not work with are far and few between and it is quite rare that you will come across these. If you are unsure on the ATM and you desperately want to perform this effect then attmpt to perform it. If the ATM instantly requests for the correct pin then you can use any method you like for covertly discovering the correct pin. You can use the fabulous
methods outlined by Peter Turner, use a peek wallet, impression pad, centre tear, centre read, peek billet, billet switch or any other method you prefer.
One method I have used in the past is to force the nuber 9 onto the participant by asking them to add the two number of their age together, remove that number from their age and to finally add those two numbers together. For example: I am 31.
3+1=4
31 – 4 = 27 2+7=9
Another example: My wife is 26 2+6=8
26 – 8 = 18 1+8=9
I then use Michael Murrays fantastic, genius, superb and wonderful Springboard Principle to discover their pin number.
Springboard is one of the most important principles ever created in mentalism and if you don’t already own it then I highly suggest you get it NOW from here: http://www.magicbox.uk.com/springboard-book-by-michael-murray.html
You also have to option to reveal a thought of ammount if you so wish. My good friend Red Devil has a fantatsic method in his book 777 which can be purchased via the Red Devil himself:
[email protected]
I hope you have found some value in this product. I have been using this for a long time and it always gets the reaction I want; amazement.
CREDITS Michael Murray
For his Springboard Principle Red Devil
For his “Good Samaritan” effect from 777 Pete Turner
For his work on pin number divinations
Sylar, Pablo Amira, Stuart Palm, Scott Drebus, Ben Cardall , Ian Rowland & Michael Murray For their help and advice with this effect
Copyright Art Vanderlay Mysteries 2016.
