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 PIN numbers
1) You are going to read some advice about how to remember the secret number or PIN we need for our bank cards.
PIN means Personal Identification Number. We can also say PIN number.
Read the article once and took at the advice below. Put a tick (V) for good advice and a crass (Х) for bad advice.
1. Use your birthday as o PIN, _______________.
2. Use the same number for all your cards _______________.
3. Change your PIN every year _______________.
4. Combine the years of two important moments In history to make a PIN _______________.
5. Invent a PIN using two Important numbers from your life _______________.
6. Think of a sentence with the same number of words as your PIN _______________.
7. Use your Imagination to help you remember the number, _______________.
8. Always give your PIN number to the police when they ask for it _______________.
2) Read the article again and choose the best answers.
1.The thieves stole the man"s
a bank cards.
b official documents.
c wallet containing his bonk cards and documents.
2.They discovered his dote of birth, because
a It was on a piece of paper In his wallet,
b It was on his driving licence.
c the man gave it to them on the phone.
3. Elvis Presley died
a in 1977,
b In 1980.
c the same year as John Lennon.
4. If you forget your PIN at the cash machine you should
a imagine yourself writing the number down,
b look at the keypad and remember the position of the numbers.
c call the police.
5. If you lose your bank card, the police
a will always ask you for your PIN,
b will only ask for your PIN by phone.
c will never ask for your PIN by phone.
3) Mark the sentences true (T) or false (F).
1. The thieves stole ?5,000 from the man"s wallet.
2. The man"s bank has said It will give him the money back.
3. The man used a different PIN for each of his cards.
4. More men than women use the same PIN for ail of their cards..
5. Most people change their PIN every year.
6. Psychologists can help you remember your PIN.
7. You can often remember the position of your PIN on the keypad.
8. You should call the police with your PIN if you lose your credit cards. _
4) Match the words (1-8) with the definition; (a-h).
1 wallet
2 cardholder
3 survey
4 significant
5 pattern
6 digit
7 withdraw
8 account
a important
b take money out of the bank
documents d place where you have your money in
a bank
e questionnaire
f an arrangement of lines, shapes, etc. g number h a person who has a bank card
To make our lives even more difficult, banks are now recommending not using your date of birth as a PIN number. One unfortunate cardholder, who used his birthday as a PIN, had his bank card stolen along with his driving licence and all the other documents contained in his wallet. When the thieves entered his date of birth as a PIN at a cash machine, they managed to withdraw nearly ?5,000 from his account. His bank says they will not return his money because he chose the wrong PIN. A further mistake this cardholder made was to use the same PIN for all of his cards. An Internet security survey discovered that people often choose the same PIN for all their cards, although more women than men do this. The same survey also shows that eight out of ten people never change their PIN, although all banks suggest changing it at least once a year.
But how is it possible to remember so many different numbers? A group of leading psychologists has made a list of some useful suggestions for choosing and remembering PINs, some of which are listed below:
• Divide your PIN into two parts and choose two significant events, for example the years of Elvis Presley"s and John Lennon"s deaths (7780).
• Choose numbers which mean something to you, like your age when you had your first child, or your mother"s house number (2831).
• Think of a phrase where each word has the same number of letters as the one you need to remember. For example, you could use: Don"t (4) forget (6) your (4) PIN (3) to remember the PIN 4643.
• Close your eyes and imagine yourself writing the number in red ink on white paper.
• Visualize the pattern the digits make on the keypad. Your brain can remember the position of the buttons even if you are not sure of the numbers.
And one last piece of advice: be extremely careful, if you receive a call about your PIN number, if your cards have been stolen. Credit card companies and the police will never ask you for your PIN, so do not give it to anyone on the phone.
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