It has been reported that many people are using very weak numbers for their credit and debit card PIN, making it easy for thieves and fraudsters to be able to access their accounts. A study was recently carried out, and officials said that one fifth of cardholders were using their birthdays as their PIN, which is an obvious choice that would easily be rumbled by someone that got their hands on the card.
The study also found that people are very careless with their PIN, and around 13 percent kept their PIN written down on a piece of paper, which they then kept in their purse or wallet along with the card itself. Over 1500 people were polled as part of the study. Officials said that the results seemed to show that whilst people were becoming increasingly stringent when it came to their online banking and accounts they were still very lax with their offline accounts.
Another 17 percent of those polled said that they kept their PIN stored on their mobile phones in case they forgot the number whilst they were out. Worryingly, 25 percent of people said that they set the same PIN on all of their credit and debit cards, which means that of someone got hold of the PIN they could access all of their cards rather than just one.
Speaking of people using their birthdates one researcher said: “I would strongly advise against this. You need to select a number that is memorable to you, but not known by other people, or just learn the PIN that the bank provides you with. Consumers who pay for items on a credit or debit card with a PIN are just as vulnerable to identity theft as people who sign for payments. It’s not rocket science; having your PIN written somewhere in your purse or wallet, right next to your credit or debit card, is asking for trouble.”
