A majority of card holders have the same simple and easy to tell PINs for their ATM cards; meaning in case a thief got hold of enough cards, they would be able to use quite a number with the right PIN. Having an easy-to guess PIN is now even more risky than ever since hackers don’t need to get your card physically to obtain the basic details on it.
Whenever there are security flaws, PIN terminals may be used in downloading personal information from customers’ cards. Such issues affect terminals that employ PIN numbers during a transaction, and hackers typically use a programmed counterfeit chip which reprograms the card reader once it is loaded. This malicious card may take the form of a regular credit card to make it easier to use and once the information is obtained, it is transferred to another card and then used in committing fraud. It is for such reasons that PIN change terminals are necessary
In view of this, you need to be careful in choosing a PIN. No matter how terrible you may be at picking and memorizing passwords, numbers such as 4321 or 1111 should be avoided. Also, if you are accustomed to writing down your PIN and then keeping this note in your wallet, it’s time to stop the habit because in case you lose that wallet, someone is likely to come across the note and your card and with these, your account can be cleared in an instant. Giving your PIN to others is also a bad idea because you make yourself more prone to fraud. As you work to avoid such practices, it’s also important to make use of PIN change terminals to change your PIN so you are sure to protect your finances adequately.
If memorizing a PIN has been your biggest problem, there are ways to handle this. But first, you should refrain from using the last four digits of your phone number since this is something that may be easily mapped out. One of the most suitable ways to come up with a good PIN is to for instance spell out a word and then use the numbers that correspond to those letters. Optionally, you can go for a number that only you can relate to; this could be digits from a friend’s phone number or any other numbers that are not likely to be found in your wallet.
Regardless of what you go for, if you must write it down, it shouldn’t be too obvious.
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