• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Most common four-digit PIN numbers that put you at risk of cyberattacks are revealed

Home> Technology> News

Published 11:38 19 Jan 2025 GMT

Most common four-digit PIN numbers that put you at risk of cyberattacks are revealed

There are certain codes that are much easier to guess than others

Emily Brown

Emily Brown

A list of the most common four-digit pin numbers has been revealed and if you spot yours, you might want to think about changing it as soon as possible.

Coming up with a good PIN can be tough. You need it to be memorable, but you're not allowed to write it down anywhere. Unlike a password, you can't throw in some punctuation or rogue capitals to mix things up - you're limited to just 10 digits.

With that in mind, it's easy to want to resort to something like your birthday, but could that just put you more at risk?

Having a simple PIN could put you at risk (Getty Stock Photo)
Having a simple PIN could put you at risk (Getty Stock Photo)

Why are PINs important?

In an increasingly digital world, I imagine most of us know the answer to this question, but it's easy to forget just how much is protected by four numbers.

Advert

We're not only talking about bank accounts, but also phones, safes, and maybe even a lock box holding the spare key to your house.

If your PIN is common enough for someone to guess, it's a prime target for a hacker or thief, so it's important to think outside the box when choosing your digits.

What's the most common PIN?

Nick Berry of DataGenetics analyzed data to calculate not only the most common PIN in existence, but a whole list of the top ten which follow patterns that you should avoid to remain secure.

Advert

Any guesses at number one? Well, if you need four numbers, what's the easiest solution? That's right, it's 1234.

This sequence clearly follows the pattern of numerical order, but there's another common mistake that people make when trying to avoid that simple pattern

Hackers can easily guess the most common PINs (Getty Stock Photo)
Hackers can easily guess the most common PINs (Getty Stock Photo)

The top 10 most common PINs

Beyond the number one PIN of 1234, it's codes using repetition that seem to be a favorite. PINs like 7777, 1111, or 0000 are frequent and easily guessable by a potential hacker or thief.

Advert

The list of the most common PINs are as follows:


  1. 1234
  2. 1111
  3. 0000
  4. 1212
  5. 7777
  6. 1004
  7. 2000
  8. 4444
  9. 2222
  10. 6969

I heard that chuckle at number 10!

Uncommon PINs don't follow a pattern (Getty Stock Photo)
Uncommon PINs don't follow a pattern (Getty Stock Photo)

What should you avoid when choosing a PIN?

Though a PIN like a birthday is more difficult for a stranger to guess, it could put you at risk if a hacker or thief manages to work it out. Birth years should also be avoided, with 2000 making the top 10 list of frequent codes and 2001 making it into the top 20.

Advert

According to Berry, the top 20 most common PINs made up roughly 26.83 percent of the total 3.4 million PINs that were used for his analysis.

What are the least common PINs?

When it comes to the least used PIN, 8068 takes the cake in this study, as it was only seen 25 times across the 3.4 million PINs. Furthermore, the 20 least common PINs, unsurprisingly, have few distinguishable patterns among them outside of the fact that none of them begin with the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5.

The least common PINs are:

  1. 8557
  2. 8438
  3. 9539
  4. 7063
  5. 6827
  6. 0859
  7. 6793
  8. 0738
  9. 6835
  10. 8093

That being said, Berry noted that 'hackers can read too!', so be wary of picking blindly from his list!

Featured Image Credit: Getty Stock Images

Topics: Technology, Crime

Emily Brown
Emily Brown

Emily Brown is UNILAD Editorial Lead at LADbible Group. She first began delivering news when she was just 11 years old - with a paper route - before graduating with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University. Emily joined UNILAD in 2018 to cover breaking news, trending stories and longer form features. She went on to become Community Desk Lead, commissioning and writing human interest stories from across the globe, before moving to the role of Editorial Lead. Emily now works alongside the UNILAD Editor to ensure the page delivers accurate, interesting and high quality content.

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

3 hours ago
9 hours ago
2 days ago
4 days ago
  • 3 hours ago

    Scientist issues warning the shortest day in history will happen in weeks as Earth's rotation is speeding up

    Graham Jones, an astrophysicist at the University of London, predicted when it will shorten our days

    Technology
  • 9 hours ago

    Scientists left baffled after discovering interstellar object hurtling towards our solar system

    It's only the third time in history that astronomers have witnessed something like this in space

    Technology
  • 2 days ago

    Everyone's saying the same thing after clip of Elon Musk resurfaces claiming we're 'summoning the demon' with AI

    Musk has since developed robots, self-driving cars and an AI platform integrated into X

    Technology
  • 4 days ago

    Important reason why you should blur your house on Google Maps

    One Redditor claimed they'd taken the plunge after a 'number of break-ins and incidents'

    Technology
  • Travelers warned about ‘smishing’ scam that could put your personal information at risk
  • Security experts issue new guidelines as they reveal why complicated passwords put you more at risk of hacking
  • CEO of AI company reveals which specific jobs are most at risk of being replaced after Bill Gates issued chilling warning
  • Scientists reveal the most populated cities at risk of 'city-destroying' asteroid that could hit Earth in seven years