Millions of Dutch people are prone to falling for the most common fraud attacks because they re-use the same PIN codes for mobile banking and payment transactions. The convenience of setting the same password – known as ‘shoulder surfing’ – is compromising security, leading to a higher chance of scams, ABN AMRO Bank has warned. In this age of digital payments made via wallets, passkeys have emerged as an alternative solution to passwords across the ecosystem.
ABN AMRO, who will be participating at Identity Week Europe, on 17-18 June, suggested that lots of users are still complacent with their online safety and using memorable personal information time again for convenience, with only a third of respondents using unique codes to access their various mobile banking apps. Over four in ten survey participants admitted they never refresh their passwords and 41% sometimes allow others to watch on as they key in their PIN codes.
The findings suggest how many of the bank’s 5 million retail customers and 365,000 commercial clients could potentially exhibit bad online safety practices. Only 30% use unique PIN codes to access various mobile banking apps.
Marco Hendriks, Fraud Expert at ABN AMRO highlighted concerns about scammers “looking over a customer’s shoulder at the right moment” when they use their physical card or smartphone. Quickly they can have “access to everything”, from your banking app to your DigiD.
“If alongside the victim’s PIN or access code, the scammer also steals their telephone or debit card, they can do practically anything: from transferring money to their own account to making purchases in someone else’s name”. Despite awareness of fraud at an all-time high, amid the onset of AI, not enough people are changing their passwords regularly. “Most people choose convenience over security,” says AMRO.
Memorable personal data such as a birthday or wedding anniversary should never be used for a strong password.
