Personal Identification Numbers (PIN)

In the same way as passwords, a short sequence of numbers, usually four to six, are associated with payment cards and smartphones. When an individual has acquired enough of them the challenge of remembering them grows. Not remembering them at the right time can prove inconvenient, as many operators will block the card after three unsuccessful attempts to enter a PIN.

 

Why is this an issue?

As with passwords, having to write them down is inconvenient and risky as payment cards and smartphones are used in public places and the risk of losing the list of such numbers by accident or theft is real.

 

What you should do about it

There is an easy answer – write the PIN with indelible ink on the card itself, but NOT as numbers.

To do this find one or more easy to remember words (in any language) that add up to ten characters and in which no letter is repeated. For example: BROWN FLUID or GOD MAKES IT (there are thousands of such combinations).

 

Select any letter (for example the F in fluid) and make it correspond to the number 1. Thus

 

B	R	O	W	N	F	L	U	I	D
6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5

 

Now, you can convert any sequence of numbers to letters you can write on your card (just don’t tell anyone what the words are! A PIN number of 2498 thus becomes IPOS.