Is your PIN as secure as you think it is?

Identity theft and credit fraud and scams affect the lives of millions of Americans every single year. One of the common ways hackers get into your account is by using your PIN to gain access. Depending on how creative you have been with your PIN, you may be at more risk than you realize. So what makes a PIN number safe? A safe PIN is one that cannot be easily guessed by a hacker. IF your pin is one of the top 10 common numbers used, chances are you could be easily hacked. A new study from Data Genetics shows some of the most common PINs out there. Millions of Americans have been the victim of credit fraud related to hacking of their banks, debit cards, and credit cards. And the most frightening thing? More than 10% of them are using the exact same PIN!

Common PIN Codes

There are 10, 000 number combinations that can be made from the digits 0-9 to form a 4-digit PIN. Out of all those possible combinations the 10 most common show a general lack of creativity on the part of the PIN holder. Here are the most common ATM pin numbers:

1. 1234 - 10.713% Use
2. 1111 - 6.016% Use
3. 0000 - 1.881% Use
4. 1212 - 1.197% Use
5. 7777 - 0.745% Use
6. 1004 - 0.616% Use
7. 2000 - 0.613% Use
8. 4444 - 0.526% Use
9. 2222 - 0.516% Use
10. 6969 - 0.512% Use

Does your PIN appear on this chart? If not, then you can breathe a small sigh of relief. If your number is on this list then you may want to seriously consider looking at changing it to something a little more creative. Staying within the first few number keys on the pad, repeating the same number, and using sequences are all bad ideas when it comes to the PIN code you use. The least commonly used PIN code is 8068. However, do not rush out and change your PIN to this, as the number has been shared in numerous write ups and reports and many hackers have no doubt seen and recorded the number on their list of codes to try. You can use this as a basis though and try to get more creative with your own code.

Other Code Combinations

ATM and credit card security depends on being able to secure your information with a strong access code. Many other code combinations exist and whether you use a 5-digit of 10-digit pass code you need to try to be as creative as possible.

For five digit passwords, there is even less creativity than with the four digit codes. The most common code comes in as 12345. All the normal sequence codes you would expect to find are also high on this list. Also repetitions are getting more and more common such as using 6 and 9 or 0 and 1 frequently.

For those using six digit password, the code 696969 appears high on the list as does its flip side of 969696.The code 159753, which forms an "X" mark on the keypad is also a common code. James Bond fans are doing themselves a disservice with many using the code 007007.

For seven digits, phone numbers, minus the area code are common choices because the number has already been memorized. This can be damaging though if the hacker is someone who knows you well and knows or could access your current or old phone numbers.

For those codes needing eight digits, the name of the game is repetition and it may take a hacker a little while to pick up 73737373, but they will guess that before they guess a random list of seven different numbers.

Common nine digit passwords use repetition of a single line on the keypad such as 123123123 or some other patter such as going around the keypad or up and down the rows and columns.

Math fans have secured a popular ten digit password with 3141592654, which are the first digits of Pi.

Warning Signs

Avoiding Credit Card and Debit Card fraud is as easy as using some common sense in most cases. Signing up for regular fraud alerts, being smart with your PIN, keeping up with your statements and accounts, and watching for any warning signs of hacker trouble can help keep you and your money safe. How would you know if you had been the victim of credit or bank account hack? What would you look for to signal that you need to change PINs, call the bank, or check your accounts? Here are some tell-tale signs to look out for:

• Transactions that look odd, that you do not recognize, or that you did not authorize appear on your statements.
• You gave out your card or PIN number to someone who turns out to not be trustworthy or you know someone untrustworthy might have had access to your information.
• Your card has been lost, misplaced, or stolen.
• You wrote down your PIN or security code somewhere and now you realize that it is has gone missing.
• Declines on your card or late notices are coming to you.

Identity theft and credit fraud and scams affect the lives of millions of Americans every single year. Most hackers get into your account by hacking in with your PIN number. Millions of Americans have had money taken from them, accounts drained, and lives ruined by these hackers simply because their PIN was easy to guess. And the most frightening thing? More than 10% of all Americans right now are using the exact same PIN!

Joy Mali is an active blogger who is fond of writing articles on Credit Protection and advising people to immediate steps by informing authorities if your card is lost or stolen. Follow her on Twitter to know more tips on securing your pin.