News

Faux ATM receipts pitched as dating aid

Thanks to Pullmyfinger.com, a Web site that sells novelty items, would-be Lotharios can hand out their phone number on fake ATM receipts that show a whopping account balance of $314,159.26.

January 27, 2003

Those who think their pick-up lines might work better if they were backed up with a stronger line of cash can now test that theory.

Thanks to Pullmyfinger.com, a Web site that sells novelty items, would-be Lotharios can hand out their phone number on fake ATM receipts that show a whopping account balance of $314,159.26.

The "ATM-itations" look like the real thing and sell for $3.95 for a pad of 24 slips.

"After seeing your balance, you'll make a deposit into her account in no time," boasts the site, which also suggests that the slips can be used to impress friends, Porsche salesmen and others.

ATM-itations are promoted on the Pullmyfinger.com Web site as a way to impress the opposite sex.

Among the other items sold on the six-year-old Web site are Super Fart Spray, Fanny Floss and a line of farting dolls. "Flatulence is where it all began," said site owner Richard Halpern.

According to Halpern, the ATM-itations have become his hottest item -- overtaking a recording of fart sound effects -- since their early December introduction.

"They've just gone through the roof," said Halpern, noting that both Spencer Gifts and another major retail chain have placed orders for them. "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno also mentioned them in a recent monologue, he said.

Halpern said the inspiration for ATM-itations came from a talk radio show during which several women mentioned the importance of a new guy having money. One male caller confessed that he gave women his phone number on ATM receipts that he pulled from trash containers.

Halpern said he is garnering plenty of free buzz for ATM-itations due to the publicity campaign associated with Fox's "Joe Millionaire" series, a show in which 20 single women are whisked off to France to be wined and dined by a multi-millionaire. The catch: In the final episode, he is revealed to be a construction worker who, according to a Fox press release, makes just $19,000 a year.

"In a way, we're ripping the mask off the people (who sign up for shows like 'The Bachelor') Fox reality programming chief Mike Darnell told Daily Variety. "We find out whether they're really doing this for love."

His product and the Fox series illustrate a cynical truism, Halpern said. "Both women and men are impressed with money when it comes to dealing with the opposite sex."

Halpern's marketing efforts certainly promote that idea. In a photo on his Web site, an attractive young blonde is accepting a receipt from a smarmy-looking guy (played by Halpern himself, outfitted with prop chain and sunglasses).

While Halpern believes that the fake receipts will most likely be used as gag gifts for bachelor parties, graduations and other events, he said, "There are probably a few people out there who will actually use these to try to meet people."

Savvy folks may catch on to the gag -- tipped off by the issuing bank, Fidelity National Bank & Savings or FNBS, or less obviously, by the fact that the account balance is the first eight digits of Pi.