Bank card PIN: codes you should never choose

Keep one point firmly in mind: your bank card PIN is more valuable than your passwords.

Your card’s secret code is the key to accessing your personal wealth. It is therefore vital to protect it and choose it carefully - far more carefully than any password. Bank card fraud is widespread and can prove extremely costly for victims, who are not always reimbursed.

Thieves frequently rely on clever techniques, such as the collet marseillais, which involves trapping a card inside a cash machine with a device while watching the victim enter their PIN.

Despite these threats, the security advice issued by banks and displayed on payment terminals or cash machines does not always achieve the intended result. Everyone should be especially cautious when selecting their actual PIN. Some codes are simply too obvious - and therefore too easy for fraudsters to guess.

Do not be fooled by obvious bank card PINs

Certain PINs are widely used by bank card holders and should be avoided at all costs if you do not want your account emptied. 0000 is the clearest example. These codes are based on logical sequences, repeated digits or meaningful numbers. The same applies to passwords, such as 123456. Make at least this effort for your bank card: it could spare you serious financial trouble.

A few years ago, Nick Berry, a former data scientist at Meta (the Facebook group), published a list of the most common and most vulnerable codes. These codes resemble those often used as online passwords, meaning hackers could easily uncover them. There is only one piece of advice when personalising your bank card PIN: avoid them entirely.

The official list of PINs to avoid:

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

If your bank accidentally issues you with a PIN on this list, it is advisable to change it as quickly as possible. Most banks now allow customers to amend their code instantly through a mobile app (Boursorama Banque, Banque Populaire, etc.). Choose a PIN with no meaning and no logical sequence. As a reminder, France limits PINs to 4 digits - unlike Switzerland, where the code has 6 digits for maximum security.

A second, less useful list

Nick Berry took his research further by identifying the supposedly most effective bank card PINs. In practice, simply sharing such a list makes those codes more vulnerable. Below are the secret codes that might be preferred... or perhaps not. Once again, it is best to choose a completely random code and remember it. If necessary, you always have a way to retrieve it.

• 7063
• 6093
• 6827
• 7394
• 0859
• 8957
• 9480
• 6793
• 8398
• 0738
• 7637
• 6835
• 9629
• 8093
• 8068

Alternatives to entering a PIN

In France, changing habits are reducing the risk. As contactless payments by card or smartphone become increasingly popular, people should need to enter their PIN less often while maintaining the highest level of security. This system is safer than typing in a bank card PIN and drastically reduces fraud.