Unfortunately being robbed while using an ATM is probably not all that unusual, but what made this story notable to me were a couple warning signs the woman overlooked...
Late Sunday afternoon, Helen stopped at the bank on North Michigan Road. She was on her way to a friend's house when she noticed a man nearby.
"Just sitting there on the sidewalk and I am, like, 'Is he homeless? Why is he sitting out here in this cold?' and I just went on around the building," she said.
While at the ATM, Helen gave little thought to danger. After all, the bank sits on a busy section of North Michigan Road. But after her withdrawal, she dropped her ATM card outside her SUV. When she picked it up, that same man distracted her by asking for directions.
There is probably more than one homeless guy sitting out in the cold in Indianapolis, but something about that guy caught her attention for a moment; I would not say one should skip the ATM based on that alone, but that "doesn't look quite right" feeling should up one's guard a bit. And then the "coincidence" of him appearing and asking directions... ding ding.
"I was getting ready to shut the door and he moved quick on me and he just started stabbing me in my hand," she said. "I just threw my hands up like that. I said, 'Please, please don't hurt me. Here, here...' and he just started running."
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