It's not often we hear about bank robberies anymore! Criminals will therefore try other approaches to stealing our money. One of these is yet as simple as picking up the PIN on your credit card.
The common phrase "safe as money in the bank" is not accidental. Banks do have a good reputation for looking after our money. Fortunately, banks have also gone to taken great measures to protect us in the digital world.
At the same time, there are a couple of security mechanisms here which depend on you as a customer and account holder.
If you do not comply with these, you may unfortunately risk having to cover for money lost on your own!
In practice, it is assumed that the use of a PIN code together with a physical payment card means that it is you who made the payment.
Therefore, always pay attention the the three principles below.
Keep your PIN safe
After all, the most secure storage of a secret PIN is inside your own head.
However, many of us have not just one payment card, but multiple. You probably don't use them all as often, and then it can be challenging to remember the different PIN codes when needed.
In that case, it may be tempting to write down the PIN codes. But if you keep the code in the same place as the card, for example on a note in your wallet, the job becomes easy for a pickpocket.
An adequately secured mobile phone with login may be the solution here. Just be careful not to make it overly obvious where you've stored your PINs – and preferably not all of them together in the same place.
Maybe you can use a password manager to remember your PINs too?
Many banks also offer a way to see your PIN within their own mobile banking app, after logging in with your face or phone PIN, so check if this is possible too!
Hide the PIN when entering
Then comes the big moment when you have to pay for yourself and have to enter your PIN in the store.
Or maybe you don't – the banks have discovered that, in general, it is safer to use contactless payments with chips, without a PIN, for small amounts – than with a PIN on all payments!
The reason for this is that every time you have to enter your PIN, there is a risk that someone else may observe the entry, and thus steal the PIN from you – completely unnoticed.
Nevertheless, you still have to enter the PIN of larger amounts. And perhaps this is a risk to consider during Christmas rush when your last Christmas presents are to be acquired.
If suddenly a "good helper" appears, just when you are going to pay, wgi distracts you enough to let you reveal your PIN code when you enter, as in the video above?
Should that happen, it is worth paying extra attention to your wallet when moving away from the till.
Fake card terminals can also be difficult to detect, but be aware: If you are told that the payment terminal is not working and you have to pay somewhere else, the warning lights should flash.
Don not share your PIN with others
In addition, it may be convenient to share the PIN code with a family member, when everyone is running in their own direction and you only have one or two bank cards available.
And there is hardly any reason not to trust each other within the family, except for the fact that banks prohibit also this.
At the same time, it is a fact that PIN means "Personal Identification Number", and then it is not intended that the number should be shared with others.
But could it be that only you have read this article and are familiar with the risks of PIN and bank card theft?
Therefore, be sure to share this message with your loved ones.
And feel free to get your own bank cards for everyone – many banks also offer debit cards for children, with limited payment limits.
This makes it a safe shopping experience for everyone!