Taking advantage of holiday sales might mean more trips to the bank and frequent use of your debit card. Unfortunately, the more you use your bank card the higher your risk of vulnerability to fraud and identity theft. Have you ever wondered how easy it might be for someone to crack your PIN code? Database analysts at DataGenetics broke down the trends in passwords from previously released tables and security breaches.

The most common four digit password was”1234″ which accounted for 10.7% of all passwords analyzed. Not surprisingly, the second and third most common passwords were “1111” and “0000”. Think those are too easy to guess? If you use numbers like your birth date, zip code, or street number, your code can easily be guessed if your wallet is lost or stolen along with your debit card and ID. It would be safer to use a relative’s birth date or a number unrelated to your personal information.

The 20 most commonly used password codes are fairly predictable.

The most uncommon codes from the data set were “8068” and “8093”. But we suggest a safer strategy for keeping your money protected- keep your debit card secured at home when it’s not needed and use credit cards during busy shopping seasons instead.This way any fraud using your identity can be disputed, leaving your hard earned cash safe and untouched. Fraud of any kind is a hassle and can be a danger to your finances, but it is much easier to dispute a charge on credit than decreased cash in your account when bills need to be paid. So enjoy the after-Christmas sales, and remember to practice safer shopping!