Brits Give Bank PIN Codes To Others And Risk Identity Theft And More

Card providers state categorically that PIN codes should be kept confidential and yet many Brits flout this and put their personal finances into jeopardy and risk such as identity theft.

According to research by shopping website Vouchercodes.co.uk, nearly 60% of Birts share their bank PIN codes and by so doing risk their finances.

Most are likely to entrust their partners with this security information, but perhaps surprisingly some 5% of adults divulge this information to their children.

The most common PIN code confidants in the UK are partners (40%), parents (8%), best friend (6%), children/child (5%).

It’s not just giving PIN numbers out but many further neglect their security by amending their PIN details so that all their cards have the same number and/or change it to a memorable date.

Others keeping records of their PIN numbers on their mobile phones – a serious issue should the phone be lost or stolen along with their cards.

Even more alarmingly, 3% of UK consumers even confess to keeping their PIN number on a piece of paper in their wallet, increasing the risk of card fraud if it was misplaced.

MoneyHighStreet.com comment: These findings are quite alarming. With so much concern now over rising identity theft and wider personal finance fraud, how can people be so lax with such critical information?

It’s not just in this area, of great concern too is that many people also put themselves and their personal information at risk as they use social networking sites, such as Twitter and Facebook.

It is vital to consider what information you have and what you should and should not divulge under what circumstances, whether this be your PIN number, your bank details or simply when you are off on holiday in your social network messages – with this latter point, consider what message you are giving to a potential burglar for example.