Women take security less seriously than men when it comes to choosing PINs for their bank cards. A poll of over 500 British men and women, by internet security testing specialist NTA Monitor, found that women are more likely to choose one PIN for all their cards. Two thirds of the women questioned used the same PIN for all their cards. Only one in three men adopted the same practice.

The survey also revealed that eight out of 10 people never change their PIN, and of those that do, only one in 10 change their PIN more than once a year. More positively, the study suggests writing PIN numbers down to remember them is a thing of the past. The majority of people surveyed, over 80 per cent of both men and women, now memorise their PIN.

With the advent of Chip and PIN technology, PIN number security is now more important than ever. Roy Hills, technical director, of NTA Monitor, said that having using only one PIN makes individuals more vulnerable to fraud. "It only takes someone to see you entering your PIN number, then if your cards are stolen and one number fits all, they will have access to all your accounts," he said. ®

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