Many bank customers are not aware of the risk involved in using it four-digit PINs comes along.

This is how you make yourself vulnerable with your bank card

As some can imagine, particularly simple number sequences are problematic. According to one Australian ABC News investigation “1234” is by far the most commonly used PIN. A full nine percent of all users in their analysis relied on this combination – making it easy for attackers. Also widely used are “1111” (1.6 percent) and “0000” (1.1 percent). Variants like “4321” or “1212” also appear again and again in the list of insecure PINs.

The problem: Such number sequences are for cheater no secret. Attackers first test the most popular combinations to gain access to accounts or devices. According to the analysis, there is a 12.7 percent chance of guessing the correct PIN after just five attempts. Anyone who uses such a sequence of numbers is taking a high risk.

ABC News relied on a data set of around 29 million four-digit PINs. They received this from Australian security service HaveIBeenPwned, which collects data from past security breaches so that consumers can see whether their data was affected in a relevant incident.

Birth year PINs are particularly easy to guess

It’s not just simple sequences that are dangerous. Many people also rely on personal information, such as their year of birth. Combinations such as “1986”, “1989” or “1987” appear particularly frequently in the analysis. Patterns on the number pad – such as diagonal or vertical rows – are also problematic. Number sequences such as “2580”, which are obtained by simply swiping the keys, are also unsafe.

Another big risk is the same PIN to be used for multiple purposes. Many people use a single sequence of numbers for their bank card, smartphone or other services. If this PIN appears in a data leak, criminals can compromise several accounts at the same time.

How to properly protect your bank card

• Security experts recommend choosing a PIN that is as random and unique as possible. The combination should not contain any obvious patterns and should not be based on personal information.
• It is particularly important to change the PIN regularly and not to use it multiple times.
• Anyone who chooses a PIN that is difficult to guess makes it much more difficult for fraudsters. Although four-digit codes are often required, there are better alternatives than simple and easy-to-guess combinations.

If you follow these rules, you can make your bank card much more secure.