Earlier today I had to go through the drive thru ATM at Coast Capital Savings in the Clover Square Village on the south side of Highway 10, next to the Dairy Queen. There were no cars in the drive thru but 2 women in their late 50's or early 60's standing there. One using the ATM, the other I assume was lining up behind her. Where I was stopped I could see into the lobby and there was one person using the ATM, no line up. OK, so this is a little weird, but no big deal. I personally would not be walking into the drive thru ATM at this particular location. In fact I wouldn't go here at all unless I was with someone else or had my dogs with me. And yes, today my dogs were in the car with me. On other occasions I've often walked inside this ATM lobby area with my dogs as I've done for many years at this location. The women obviously weren't together. One finished her transaction and left and then the second woman did her transaction.
About a month ago we went through this ATM drive thru at this Coast Capital Savings. It was early evening, just starting to get dark and we were in our Ford F-250 so pretty high up off the ground. We had our 2 dogs in the back seat. A blonde woman, appeared to be in her late 40's, suddenly appeared in front of the truck as Kerry was starting to pull away from the machine. His window was still down and he asked if he could help her. She asked him if he had a toonie so she could make a phone call. He said he did not and offered to let her use his cell phone. She declined and said that wouldn't work and wandered off.
OK, that's really weird. The last time I checked pay phones cost a quarter for a call. Whatever she needed the toonie for it wasn't a phone call. We drove through the parking lot and next we see two young men, late teens, walking from around the side of the branch. We wondered if they might be her accomplices. They then went to the far side of the ATM shelter where there are posts holding up the canopy and both of them leaned against the posts so if a car drove in they would not see them standing (hiding?) there. We stayed there watching them considering if we should call the police, but after half a minute, they walked away. The blonde woman was nowhere to be seen by this point.
I have no idea if they were working together or what they were up to but two or three days later I saw the blonde walking down 176th Street in Cloverdale, near 57 Avenue.
So always remember safety at ATM's whether its daytime or night. Be aware of the people around you if you're alone. Avoid entering an ATM lobby if a person is sleeping in there. Or otherwise hanging out in the lobby. And especially avoid the Coast Capital Savings ATM at the Clover Square Village unless you're with someone else or have your dogs with you for security. That might be a high traffic area on Highway 10 but it is isolated from the other shops in the mall and someone encountering difficulty might not be readily seen.
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