For public place safety tips

For public place safety tips


  • Prefer bank branches having full scale CC camera surveillance system covering all parts of inside and outside of the branch. Insist the branch manager on it.
  • Always prefer banks recognized by the Reserve Bank of India
  • Never introduce an unknown person for the purpose of opening an account in your Bank.
  • Never encash cheques / drafts of an unknown person through your account.
  • Do not keep your account inoperative for a long time.
  • Never disclose your bank account number, user name and password to anyone.
  • Always cross checks/drafts/postal orders/pay orders to ensure they are paid into accounts, not drawn in cash.
  • To avoid theft in postal transit or courier services and subsequent cheating, keep a track on the cheques / drafts / pay orders sent through post and courier services by preserving their snap shots in your mobile phone until they reach destination and acknowledged as such.
  • As far as possible, bank transactions should be handled personally take care of your cheque books. Do not keep signed cheques in the drawer or any place where outsiders have access.
  • All bank transactions should be counter checked to ensure that deposited cheques have been realized.
  • Monthly statements of your bank account should be invariably checked.
  • At the time of withdrawal of cash, the account holder must physically check the cash. Never hand over the cash to a third person for counting.

  • Handling cash is a mission. You should have total focus on safety of cash until you reach it to a safe place.
  • Don’t send old people with visual impairments to draw cash. Don’t send inexperienced children/women also.
  • Don’t believe strangers.
  • Suspect every stranger contacting you for whatever reason while you are handling cash. Do not encourage any stranger to make small talk or any conversation whatsoever while inside the bank.
  • Don’t allow your attention to be diverted for the small currency especially when you are in bank and making huge transactions.
  • On Friday, Saturday & Monday between 10 am to 1.00 pm heavy transactions take place in banks, so one must be on high alert on those days and timings.
  • Cash counter staff should lock the doors from inside or use electronic security check door.
  • Keep a watch on those customers who are standing idle and watching others.
  • All the banks should install CCTV cameras and employ staff to monitor it.
  • For those who withdraw huge cash, it should be delivered to the customers inside the counter.

Many crimes occur when you carry cash and valuables from your home, shop, bank in public/private transport. Numerous gangs perfected the art of stealing this money from you in your weakest moments. They play upon our petty greed and mild tension takes us over when we hold such amounts of cash. Following are the ways how these offenders operate

  • Diverting your attention.
  • Giving you false sense of security by posing as policemen.
  • Pocket picking in busy buses.
  • Loot you at point of knife.

Rasheed withdrew Rs.5,00,000/- from Andhra Bank at Vijayawada I Town branch and kept the cash in a bag with him in his car. While he was proceeding towards Municipal Office, at traffic signal one stranger told him to check his deflated rear tire. On this, he came out from the car leaving the cash bag in the car, and checked the air and found that everything is alright. But in the meantime, another person has taken the cash bag from the car and fled away (True Story but name changed).

Diverting attention of less attentive people and stealing their valuables is an age old crime. These gangs generally operate in groups of four. They operate near banks and big shops.

  • They divert your attention by asking you to fill their form.
  • Divert attention by offering help to count the currency notes and then replacing them with fake notes or knocking off part of a thick wad of cash .
  • Divert attention by throwing small currency on the floor and ask you whether those notes belong to you.
  • Diverting attention of employee working at cash counter by asking some queries repeatedly.
  • Diverting attention by throwing Colour on your dress. Some thieves chew biscuits and spit it on your dress and make you believe it is faecal matter.
  • Diverting attention by asking the staff about the other banks and their branches.
  • Diverting attention of employee safeguarding the cash by telling him that he is being called by the manager.
  • Some will approach you with a story that their relatives are in hospital and they are likely to get money from their village and ask for your account details to credit their money. They may offer some commission also.