Copyright 2016 by Michael Murray/Art Vanderlay All rights reserved. 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(s).
CONTENTS • • • •
Introduction - (Page 4) Performance & Presentation - (Page 6) History & Development - (Page 10) Credits & Thanks - (Page 13)
ATM Divination
Introduction: PIN divination effects have become quite popular for magicians and mentalists in recent years. The ability to hack into one of the most guarded aspects of a participant’s life is just far too desirable for any magician or mentalist to overlook. Perhaps the most scary thought of all, is just how much information can be accessed using a simple four digit combination. Assuming that someone had access to your Facebook, e-mail, online banking, photos, videos and contacts, your very identity could be at stake. Yet, all of these things are readily available to anyone who has access to your mobile phone. If someone were to discover your banking PIN number, then not only could they steal your identity, but they could also clear out your account and leave you heavily in debt too. Chances are high that you may already know someone who has been a victim of this malicious crime. For the very reasons mentioned above, you must treat this effect with the upmost respect, and your participant even more so. You must always seek full consent from your helper before you attempt to perform any effect of this nature. It is also advisable that you ask them to change their passcode soon after the performance too. Note: If in any doubt, you may wish to reverse the roles and have the participant attempt to divine your PIN instead. This not only ensures that their privacy is protected, but since your actual code will never be divulged, your identity is safeguarded too. So, why have I decided to release yet ANOTHER pin divination into the market? Well, mine offers certain advantages that others do not
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It is easy to do Nothing is ever written down No pre-show No dual reality 100% impromptu No maths or memory work Page 4
By Art Vanderlay
There are only two performance restrictions that could potentially limit the use of this effect within your work. Firstly, the actual PIN is never revealed to anyone (this is however justified within the performance), and secondly, you do need access to a physical ATM machine to perform this. With that in mind, it is now time to discover the devious secret that allows this effect to work… “I sincerely hope that you have found some value in this product. It never fails to illicit an amazing reaction from those I have shown. I sincerely hope that you get as much fun from it as I have!” Art Vanderlay - May 2016
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ATM Divination
Performance & Presentation: Whilst performing a series of mentalism effects for a group, you suggest “Most often, our entire identities are only safeguarded by a four digit number. If someone was able to discover the passcode to your mobile phone, then in theory they would also have access to your Facebook account, e-mail, mobile banking, contacts, photographs, videos and so much more. In very much the same way, if someone were to discover your banking PIN, then they would also have the potential to clear your account, place you heavily in debt, and perhaps worst of all, they could potentially steal your identity. As modern technology advances and people become more dependant upon it, identity theft is becoming more and more common. Criminals always appear to be one step ahead of the game and are quick to take advantage of any technological shortfalls. To help combat this, and to keep us safe, some mobile phone companies offer us regular software updates. Some of them have even made several changes to the way we unlock our phones, in effect making them more difficult to crack. Despite this, our banks seem quite content in sticking with the traditional four digit/one in ten thousand passcode method.” Note: Notice how the above implies that a mobile phone could potentially be harder to access than the bank account. This prevents the spectator from suggesting that you to guess their mobile passcode, rather than the one for their bank. You will now address someone from within the group, asking for the consent to attempt to divine their banking PIN. You must also take care to ensure that they have the card in question upon their person, and that the access number only exists in their mind. With a suitable participant selected you will then address them as follows “Many thanks for putting your trust in me. Now, whilst most hackers often rely on the exploitation of modern technology, I instead prefer to take a more Page 6
By Art Vanderlay
psychological approach. Could you please just think of each of the digits of your PIN in turn. Unless you genuinely do this for me, what I am about to do will simply not work” How you proceed will now be entirely dictated by which ever pseudo skill set that you wish to portray, which, in turn, will depend upon both your preferred persona and any prior demonstrations given. Are you going to claim to pick up the number via telepathy? Are you going to read their body language as they call out the digits zero to nine, four times in succession? Or are you going to take hold of their wrist and treat this as an apparent muscle reading exercise? Note: Since most people now carry multiple credit/debit cards upon their person, it is important to have your participant decide which card they will use prior to demonstrating your pseudo skill set. With the four digits now seemingly divined, you will now re-address the participant “Many thanks, you did a great job, I would like you now to remove the bank card from your purse/wallet and place it into the ATM machine. As you do this, could you please confirm for everyone watching that the card which you have decided to use belongs to you alone, that your name is clearly embossed across the front, and that the card has never left your possession.” Note: This safeguards anyone from considering the possibility of a switch, and also protects you should a third party have access to withdrawing any cash from the account without the participant’s awareness. Once the spectator has placed their card into the machine it will clearly ask for the PIN to be entered. Here you will suggest “Out of respect for you, I won’t let anyone else see the numbers I am using to gain access to your account”. You will now enter ANY four digits (whilst covering the number pad with your free hand). Taking a slight step back, you will now allow everyone a clear view Page 7
ATM Divination
of the ATM screen. Pausing for a few moments you suggest “If I have successfully entered the four digits belonging to this card, the ATM will now give me access to your entire bank account. Please press ‘enter’ for me now, thus sealing your fate in my hands.” Provided that you have checked the ATM’s suitability in advance (more on this later) the participant will now press ‘enter’ and you will now be presented with a series of ‘on screen’ options such as
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Mini Statement Check Balance Withdraw Cash Change PIN
You will now slowly and deliberately select ‘withdraw cash’, followed by the ‘other amount’ option as you ask the participant how much they would like you to withdraw from their account. Note: The idea here is for the spectator to see as many different screens being accessed and changed as possible. Whichever amount they request, you will type it into the machine and then hover your finger over the ‘confirmation’/‘enter’ key as you suggest “Whilst I do have the potential to withdraw money from your account, you also have the potential to pursue me for criminal charges, therefore, I will keep both your cash and my integrity safe, leaving you instead to treasure this memory.” You will now hit the ‘cancel transaction’ button and the participant’s card will pop out of the machine. To reaffirm the memory in the spectator’s mind, you will now have them remove the card from the machine and confirm for a second time, that it does indeed belong to them. Secondly, you will have them confirm aloud that they have just witnessed you access their account. Page 8
By Art Vanderlay
Note: It is this double ‘yes’ set coupled with the spectator’s own conviction that will cement the routine in both the participant’s mind, as well as the minds of the spectators, thus bringing the routine to a successful conclusion.
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ATM Divination
History & Development: This effect was created completely by accident. Both myself and my wife know each others PIN codes for our separate bank accounts. This is mainly so that she can send me to the shops without having to go herself and was not a decision which was based on mutual trust and love ha ha. Whilst out shopping one day, I accidentally placed HER card into the ATM machine and proceeded to enter MY pin number into the key pad. After pressing the relevant key to withdraw some cash, I entered the amount and pressed the button to proceed. Only then did the machine reject the PIN, asking me to re-enter the correct number. Confident that I had entered the correct details the first time round I suddenly realised what had happened and I instantly experienced one of those ‘lightbulb’ moments. Immediately I began thinking of all of the potential ways that I could use this information and naturally a PIN divination routine seemed like the most natural direction to take it. Method wise, it couldn’t be simpler. You simply have the spectator place their own card into the machine and you will then enter any four numbers you like, and instantly, it will appear that you have access to their account. I should make it clear that whilst the number is seemingly accepted by the machine, you will not be able to view any personal details such as the account balance, you will not be able to make any changes to the account and you will not be able to make a physical withdrawal. Despite the above, the machine will allow you to access both the ‘withdraw money’ option and the subsequent ‘other amount’ selection. Unless you physically click to make the withdrawal, the machine will act as though you are genuinely in their account. Now, whilst this will work on the large majority of ATM machines there are a few that won’t, luckily, these are very much in the minority. To explain further, most machines will accept your card and will only return the card to you prior Page 10
By Art Vanderlay
to the cash being dispensed. These machines are perfect for our needs. There are however some machines that return your card before you are asked to enter the PIN. These machines will not work for this effect, the reason for this is that these machines attempt to validate the PIN code immediately upon PIN entry. The other machines (which thankfully are in the majority) only attempt to validate the PIN code when you attempt to view the account details, make changes to the account or physically withdraw some cash. As a result of the above, it is always advisable to test any ATM by entering an incorrect PIN code for your own card prior to performing the effect. Thankfully this only takes a moment to do and it can be checked days/weeks or even months in advance. It is always beneficial to be familiar with several other PIN divination effects, so that you always have something to rely on should you ever become stuck. Fortunately there are countless methods available to us as performers in the form of peek wallets, impression pads, billet switches and centre tears. One of my favoured approaches, is to begin by forcing the number nine upon the participant by asking them to follow the simple three step mathematical system below First, you will ask them to add the two digits of their age together For example, I am 31 and so (3 + 1 = 4). You will then, ask them to take the result off their current age In this example, I would remove 4 from my present age of 31 giving me a result of 27. Lastly, I would ask them to add the resulting two digits together In this example, I would add the 2 to the 7 giving me a total of 9. This system works regardless of your age (providing you are aged ten or over).
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ATM Divination
Another example My wife is 26, so in adding the two digits together (2 + 6) she would get a total of 8. She would then take 8 off her age (26) giving her a total of 18. Lastly, she would add the 1 and 8 together giving her a total of 9. After forcing the number nine in this fashion, I then use Michael Murray’s fantastic, genius, superb and wonderful Springboard Principle to discover their PIN number. The Springboard principle is not mine to reveal. However, it is available to download direct from www.mindfx.co.uk
END
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By Art Vanderlay
Credits & Thanks: Michael Murray - Springboard Principle 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: http://www.mindfx.co.uk Red Devil - “Good Samaritan” effect from 777 Should you wish to reveal a thought of amount then my good friend Red Devil has a fantastic method for doing just that. You will find this in his book titled ‘777’ which can be purchased from the Red Devil himself at:
[email protected] Pete Turner - For his entire body of work on pin number divinations I would like to personally recommend the work of Peter Turner who has several ingenious approaches to this plot. These can be found in the various books and DVD’s which he has released to the magic and mentalism fraternity. Special Thanks Special thanks must go to the following people for their help and advice during the development of this effect: Sylar, Pablo Amira, Stuart Palm, Scott Drebus, Ian Rowland, Ben Cardall & Michael Murray
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If you enjoyed this work please check out some of the other effects available at www.mindfx.co.uk While you are there, why not sign up to my free monthly newsletter too! Best Wishes Michael Murray (January 2016)
