If your PIN is among these numbers, your money is at risk

(Image source: Pixabay/jarmoluk)

That’s the thing with PIN numbers for debit and credit cards. Since they usually only consist of four digits, the number of possible combinations is very limited. There are just ten thousand different options.

If you had to guess a PIN number of an unknown card, which combination would you choose? 1234 or 1111?

The Datagenetics website has now taken a closer look at PIN numbers. Which ones appear particularly frequently and which ones are the safest:

To find out, the author, who was once a data scientist at Facebook, used a database. This includes previously leaked password lists. He himself is not in possession of a secret, still unknown list. Yet he has collected around 3.4 million PIN numbers.

He also points out that the list he created of the most common PIN numbers is by no means a guide for potential hackers. He just wanted to make it clear how dangerous certain combinations of numbers actually are.

These are the most common PIN numbers

• #01: 1234 – 10,713%
• #02: 1111 – 6,016%
• #03: 0000 – 1,881%
• #04: 1212 – 1,197%
• #05: 7777 – 0,745%
• #06: 1004 – 0,616%
• #07: 2000 – 0,613%
• #08: 4444 – 0,526%
• #09: 2222 – 0,516%
• #10: 6969 – 0,512%
• #11: 9999 – 0,451%
• #12: 3333 – 0,419%
• #13: 5555 – 0,395%
• #14: 6666 – 0,391%
• #15: 1122 – 0,366%
• #16: 1313 – 0,304%
• #17: 8888 – 0,303%
• #18: 4321 – 0,293%
• #19: 2001 – 0,290%
• #20: 1010 – 0,285%

The combination is not surprising 1234 by far the most widespread. Almost eleven percent of the PIN numbers examined by the data scientist consists of it.

This is followed closely by the combination 1111which is used by six percent of the 3.4 million credit or bank card holders.

The top 20 most common and popular PIN numbers are represented with a total of 26.83 percent. With ten thousand possible combinations (10 x 10 x 10 x 10), however, 20 combinations should statistically account for just 0.2 percent.

But even apart from the top 20, there are PIN numbers that it is better not to call your own. Approximately 2580 in position 22. 2580 sounds rather random at first, but it is the arrangement of the middle digits on a digital dial, such as a typical landline telephone or old cell phone.

What should I do?

If your PIN is one of the most common combinations and you have the ability to change it yourself, you should strongly consider doing so.

But not all PIN numbers can be changed or chosen freely. If you have been given the PIN and yours is at the start of this list, you have the option of requesting a new PIN number from your bank. Some banks also offer custom numbers.

These are the least common PIN numbers

• #9980: 8557 – 0,001191%
• #9981: 9047 – 0,001161%
• #9982: 8438 – 0,001161%
• #9983: 0439 – 0,001161%
• #9984: 9539 – 0,001161%
• #9985: 8196 – 0,001131%
• #9986: 7063 – 0,001131%
• #9987: 6093 – 0,001131%
• #9988: 6827 – 0,001101%
• #9989: 7394 – 0,001101%
• #9990: 0859 – 0,001072%
• #9991: 8957 – 0,001042%
• #9992: 9480 – 0,001042%
• #9993: 6793 – 0,001012%
• #9994: 8398 – 0,000982%
• #9995: 0738 – 0,000982%
• #9996: 7637 – 0,000953%
• #9997: 6835 – 0,000953%
• #9998: 9629 – 0,000953%
• #9999: 8093 – 0,000893%
• #10000: 8068 – 0,000744%

Die 8068 occurred just 25 times in the entire data set, i.e. in 3.4 million combinations. However, now that it’s out, you should stay away from it.

We don’t want to ask for your PIN at this point – but still: is your combination on one of the lists? Write it to us in the comments!