Neal Augenstein, wtop.com
WASHINGTON – Crooks are counting on your lack of originality when it comes to choosing four-digit personal identification numbers or PIN codes.
Data analysis researchers find 1234, 1111 and 0000 make up 20 percent of all four- digit pass codes.
The firm Data Genetics says its research shows users often choose codes related to birthdays, so every combination starting with “19” raises the chances of a thief breaking the code.
The least popular combination — 8068 — is chosen less than 0.001 percent of the time.
The four other rarest combinations are 8093, 9629, 6835 and 7637, reports Salon.
Certain combinations are apparently chosen because their location on an ATM keyboard makes it easier to remember — for instance, 2580.
According to Data Genetics, people prefer even numbers to odd, so 2468 is more popular than 1357.
Far more passwords begin with one than any other number.
Among seven-digit passwords, the fourth popular is 8675309, the title of a song from the 1980s, by Tommy Tutone.
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