Choosing a secure PIN for your debit or credit card is an important step in protecting your identity. Many people never update their PIN when their card is issued, or use something easy to remember like their birth year or birthday. Did you know that out of 10,000 possible combinations, more than 25% of all PINs are accounted for in the top 20 most common? To go even further, 50% of all PINs are accounted for in the top 500 most common.
The number one most popular PIN number is 1234, followed by 1111 and 0000. When you are choosing a PIN number, you want to pick a set of numbers that others would not be able to guess.
You should avoid using:
Your birth year
Birth month/date combination (mmdd)
Your house number
Last four digits of your phone number or social security number
Anything with repeating digits (3333, etc.)
While it may seem difficult to come up with a number that you’ll remember without it being in one of the categories listed above, think of it this way - if a thief were to steal your wallet, what numbers would they guess? Your driver’s license will have your birthday and address on it. You might have your social security number in your wallet, or your phone number. These are numbers that are typically more likely to be used. But choosing something that others wouldn’t be able to associate with you is a great step in protecting the funds you have on your card.
Some safer choices:
Childhood house number
Combination of dates – like the day of the month of your wedding anniversary, and the day of your birthday
A random number that you can memorize
Thieves do have a limited number of guesses before your card will be locked for incorrect PIN entries, but by making your PIN a more difficult number to guess, you’re making your accounts even more secure.
Protect yourself - come to any branch today to choose a new PIN for your debit or credit card!
To view some more fun statistics about PIN numbers, check out this article.
