Most unsafe and commonly used PIN numbers revealed - Is yours on the list?

Cybersecurity experts have been cracking down on commonly leaked passwords- urging the public to change them if they find theirs on the list.

The same goes for PINs, which are just as easily hackable if you let them be.

Bank card PIN codes may only be 4 numbers but having something as silly and easy as '1234' isn't going to do you any favours.

In 2022 alone, the UK saw £556.3 million lost to fraud involving credit, debit, and other payment cards.

The report by finder.com also found the average victim losing £204 which is a major hit.

Whilst fraud cannot be completely avoided, the risk can be minimalised by securing a strong PIN.

Data website Information is Beautiful analysed 3.4 million data points from 'several data breaches' to determine the most and least common PINs.

Helder Faria/Getty

With that, here is the list of the most commonly used PIN codes:

• 1234
• 1111
• 0000
• 1212
• 7777
• 1004
• 2000
• 4444
• 2222
• 6969

As you can see, these are either sequential, repetitive or an adult joke that will surely backfire.

Jake Moore, a global cybersecurity advisor at ESET, points out: 'By using simple or easy-to-guess passcodes it enables attackers to target people more easily.'

The security expert explained that people continue to use PIN codes that are commonly used or those that are related to them and easily accessible' - like memorable dates.

'Partly due to our memories only having so much captivity but also because they may have been using the same codes for many years when cyber awareness was not so well documented,' Moore added.

'People put themselves at risk by having weak passwords and PIN codes and often do not fully understand the threat until they are compromised.'

Besides combos like '1234', Moore refers to weak PINs as dates that are linked to your personal information such as birthdays and anniversaries. That type of exposed information is just an open door to thieves and scammers.

This risk is amplified if you have the same weak PIN for multiple accounts.

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The same also goes for those who use a PIN to unlock their smartphones. It may be easy for you to remember but in the hands of the wrong person, it can only end in disaster.

For better security, password managers are the way to go. These tools can generate random codes and store them securely, so you don’t have to rely on your good ol' memory.

For reference, here's the list of the least common PIN codes:

• 8557
• 8438
• 9539
• 7063
• 6827
• 0859
• 6793
• 0738
• 6835
• 8093

Notice how random the numbers are?

If your number made the list or is just easy to guess, make sure to protect your finances by changing it (or them) ASAP.