HUDSON, Mass. -- The woman robbed at knifepoint at an ATM said she made a big mistake stopping at the machine alone late Monday night.

Video

Jack Harper Speaks With Alleged Victim

NewsCenter 5's Jack Harper reported that authorities in Hudson are searching for a man who allegedly robbed the woman at a Fleet Bank ATM near the center of town.

"I decided to stop at the ATM because it is in a well-lit area and it looks very safe and the police drive by and there were plenty of people around," the Hudson woman said.

The woman said she stopped at a freestanding ATM located at the Hudson Shopping Center at Washington Street and Technology Drive. As she was preparing her deposit, she said a man wearing a mask approached the kiosk.

"Somebody was coming in with a Halloween mask on, and I just froze and processed it for a second and then this person entered and had a knife, " she said.

She said the ATM was like closet with no way out.

"I just closed my eyes and blocked my ears and kept my face to the wall and kept saying, 'Just take my money. There is a lot there for you, don't take my life.' Afraid can't even describe it. I felt like I was seeing my self on a video camera in a horror movie," she said.

The alleged victim said she hopes her experience can help prevent others from becoming victims, too.

"I saw a well-lit area and I thought, no problem, what would happen here? And I want people to just not look art this and change the channel. I want people to stop and think for a second that this happens, and there is no place that this can't happen," she said.

The woman was not injured, but the thief took some money and some of the woman' s personal belongings, before fleeing in a tan, light-brown or gold-colored Lincoln Continental.

The shopping plaza is equipped with surveillance cameras, so police believe they may have a photo of the man.