Bank-approved tips for a hack-proof PIN

A person inserts a debit card into an ATM machine in Pittsburgh, Saturday, Jan. 5, 2013. (AP / Gene J. Puskar, File)

Is your debit or credit card PIN too easy to guess?

Richard Parker found the answer to that the hard way -- when he forgot his debit card at a Toronto grocery store and later found more than $800 missing from his account.

His bank told him that his personal identification number was too easy to guess, so they would not reimburse him.

Parker’s PIN was 1010.

A Data Genetics survey found that nearly 27 per cent of bank users use the same 20 PIN combinations, and 11 per cent use the most easily guessed code: 1234.

The next most-guessed PINs are 1111, 0000, 1212 and 7777. Also on the list are 2000, 4444 and 2222.

So where is the line? What makes some PINs more secure than others?

Here are bank-approved tips to choose a better PIN, and keep it secret:

Canada’s Big Five banks also offer extra tips:

Scotiabank advises customers choose unique PINs for each of their cards, rather than reusing the same code. It also suggests avoiding an easily recognizable numeric sequence, like 4567 or 9876.

RBC allows its customers to use a PIN of up to six digits, which are harder to guess, but may not work overseas.

TD also offers six-digit pins, and warns cardholders that if they have to write down their PIN, it shouldn’t be kept in a purse or wallet. One way to disguise it is by keeping it with other records.

BMO advises customers to keep their card in sight at all times, especially when a cashier takes the card to swipe it.

CIBC adds that ATM users should be wary of any objects attacked to bank machines that ‘make its appearance seem unusual.’ Thieves often attach cameras or scanners to remote ATMs.