Posted by Today’s post was written by Amanda. She is part of the Card Operations team and is passionate about our Net+ cards. This is the first in a series of posts where Amanda will be talking about the importance of remembering your PIN number.
Do you sometimes get to the ATM and struggle with remembering your PIN like I do? And with the need to use a Chip & PIN card becoming more widespread throughout the world, do you ever worry about remembering your Net+ card PIN?
There are a variety of tricks you can use to remember PIN numbers. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. I have highlighted below a few methods recommended by memory experts, along with some of the pros and cons.
Patterns
Rather than learn a PIN digit by digit, learn the pattern that you need to trace on the keypad with your fingers
Vocalizing
Go into a room on your own and say your PIN aloud several times: just hearing your own voice often helps to deepen the imprint on your memory. However, make sure you are on your own; never disclose your PIN to anyone (not even your family, the bank or the police) or you could be liable for losses.
2 by 2
Some people find it helps to break a 4-digit PIN down into 2 lots of 2 numbers, for example 2852 as 28 and 52 or 1066 as 10 and 66.
Number Shapes
Picture each number between 0 and 9 as something that looks like its shape. This allows you to visualize numbers and makes them easier to remember. For example:
- You could picture a 0 as a football, the number 1 might be a pencil or a candle, the number 2 a swan or a snake
- Once the associations are made, you create a story to remember the sequence. If, for instance, your PIN was ‘2021’, you could imagine yourself as a snake (2) playing football (0) with a swan (2) writing down the scores with a pencil (1)
Believe it or not, the crazier the story, the stronger the chance of remembering it!
Rhyming words
Use rhyme words that replace the original numbers and facilitate recall, for example: 1 = bun; 2 = shoe; 3 = tree etc. Then as for number shapes, create a story to remember the sequence.
Word method
Can your PIN be linked to a word? For example think about how you sometimes “dial-by-name” in a company’s phone system. If you can link a word to your PIN number, it will be easier to remember. For example, the PIN number 9673 would be converted to the word “word” (the W is on the 9, the O is on the 6, etc).
Addition method
Another way to randomize your PIN number is to add numbers to an easily remembered number. For example, you might add 1 to each number of the base PIN number. If you start with “1234″, you add 1 to each position and end up with “2345″. Of course, this is pretty simple and would equally be simple for someone else to work out. You would have to get more creative for any meaningful security using this method.
Tools and gadgets
If you worry about remembering all your PINs and password there are numerous gadgets and tools for your phone and PC to help you remember them, whilst keeping the information secure.
Have you found another method that works well for you? Share it with us.
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#1 by tiffany on July 28th, 2010
Can your PIN be linked to a word? For example think about how you sometimes “dial-by-name” in a company’s phone system. If you can link a word to your PIN number, it will be easier to remember. For example, the PIN number 9673 would be converted to the word “word” (the W is on the 9, the O is on the 6, etc).
#2 by Danny on July 29th, 2010
Hi Tiffany,
That works better when you’re entering your PIN on a phone. If it helps, you can certainly assign a word to your PIN based on that sysytem.