Study: Millions Still Use Easily Guessed PIN Codes for Their Bank Cards
An analysis of 3.4 million PIN codes found that 1234, 1111 and 0000 together account for almost 19 percent of them. Experts urge people to choose less predictable codes and not reuse them across services.
Many bank card holders still choose overly simple PINs, making it easier for fraudsters to guess them. TSN reports this, citing a study that analysed 3.4 million PIN codes.
Most common combinations
A four-digit PIN can theoretically take 10,000 different values. If people picked their digits at random, guessing a code would be much harder. In practice, however, users often rely on the same predictable sequences.
The most frequent codes are 1234, 1111 and 0000. Together these three make up almost 19 percent of all the PINs analysed, and experts say they may be among the first that scammers try.
Other risky choices
Reversed sequences such as 4321 are also considered dangerous, as are codes made of repeated identical digits and those that form a simple pattern on the keypad, for example 2580.
Specialists also advise avoiding birth dates or years that can be linked to the cardholder, since such details can be found in open sources or on social media.
Experts' recommendations
- choose the most unpredictable combination possible;
- avoid sequential or repeated digits;
- do not use the same PIN for several services;
- do not write the code down next to the bank card or share it with others;
- if you use one of the most popular codes, change it to a more complex one.
