You must always be aware of your surrounding but more so at ATMs, and especially at night. Jessica was a sophomore at a local college. She was an industrious young lady who also worked in a local restaurant to pay her expenses.

She worked at the restaurant on weekends and at night. She enjoyed meeting new people in the restaurant. For her friendliness, she was routinely rewarded with huge tips. She usually took the money home and deposited it in her account he next day. If she needed cash for emergencies she would use an ATM.

She has been known to frequent the ATM near her workplace. Occasionally she has used one at night, but she has never had a problem. One night while at work a friend called her to invite her to a late night party. Her first inclination was to say no, go home and get some sleep. Then her friend started naming everyone on the guest list.

On the list was a guy Jessica had been trying to get to know better. Even though it was against her better judgment, she agreed to come to the party. The party location was about 10 miles from where she worked.

She figured she would go there for a couple of hours and still get home in time to get plenty of sleep. She left work and headed for the party location. About 5 miles into the drive she remembered her friends were the types that liked to order extra pizza during a party.

She also realized that she did not have any cash. Jessica wanted to be prepared. She spotted an ATM about a block from a convenience store. Against her better judgment she decide to stop and get some cash. It was a drive through so she figured it would be safe.

Jessica pulled up to the ATM. She fed the machine her card and waited for the transaction. As she was waiting, she saw a man walk in front of her vehicle. At that moment she heard a loud crash. She ducked down in her vehicle. It shook her up momentarily.

She looked up and saw that her front windshield was smashed. The man had thrown a sizable stone at the window. He reached through the open driver side window and grabbed her arms. She struggled and after a moment was able to free herself. She sped out of the ATM area, leaving her cash and card behind.

In her rearview mirror, she could see the man taking the cash. He quickly fled in a wooded area. She drove to the nearby convenience store and reported the incident to police. They instantly recognized the robbery method.

There had been 5 other reported incidents of the same at other ATMs. The criminals usually caused a distraction to disorient the victim. They would then take whatever they could. Usually it was just the cash, but sometimes they tried to get other things.

On occasion there were assaults. It was a method commonly used by drug users looking to pay for their next high. You must be aware of your surroundings at all times, but especially at ATMs during night hours. If things become violent you must take action to defend yourself. You must absolutely seize any opportunity to remove yourself from danger.