Good Morning: Why Waste Time in Line on Such a Beautiful Saturday?

It's been 41 years since the first time-saving automated teller machine appeared. (Trivia for the day: The first bank ATM appeared in New York City on September 2, 1969 and was installed by Chemical Bank.)  But step aside, ATMs, there's a new timesaver in town that's going to let us spend more time enjoying the weekend and less time standing in line at the ATM:  Check deposit by smartphone.

I just deposited my first check using my iPhone and it's a modern miracle of convenience. Instead of slogging down to the bank's ATM, I was able to deposit a check with two clicks of my iPhone's camera.

More and more banks are offering smartphone apps that let you deposit checks by taking a photo of the front and back sides of the check. If your bank doesn't yet have that app, sign up with PayPal and get their iPhone app, and start spending less time in line and more time enjoying the sunshine.

Saturday's going to be warm and sunny with a light breeze.  How warm? About 77 degrees warm. Sunday will be a few degrees cooler, but also sunny.

ATM Machine Skimmed in Cleveland Park

Warning:  ATM machine skimming isn't something that only happens somewhere else. It took place in Cleveland Park recently. Card skimmers are machines that get inserted into the mouth of ATM machines and record your account information from the magnetic strip and the PIN number you enter. With that information, a crook can clone your bank card and then steal your money. You can read more about card skimmers and how to detect them on Snopes. Here the victim's firsthand report about what happened to her at the ATM:

Beware Bare ATM Thieves

While this hasn't happened in the Washington, DC area yet, forewarned is forearmed, as the saying goes:  In Paris a man, who had just entered in his secret PIN code was distracted by two topless women.  While his eyes were not on where they should be, one of the women quickly withdrew 300 euros from his account.  Both women then quickly fled and have not been found. 


A local Paris police official offered these words of advice: "We would advise anyone withdrawing cash from a machine to focus on what they are doing and not allow themselves to be distracted, however attractive the view."  


Be aware of your surroundings -- just not too aware.


Report via Gizmodo and the Telegraph.