07 March 2024 , 17:11
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People who use some of the UK's most common passwords have been urged to change them - because they can be cracked in seconds.
The easily guessed and insecure passwords were released by banking giant Lloyds as part of their new online safety campaign, which is urging everyone to keep their money and personal details protected from criminals.
It provides a revealing insight into the types of passwords used by those who favour simple and easy-to-remember codes, even though these are weak and more likely to be hacked.
The list includes some simple consecutive numbered codes like '123456', as well as some words made out of letters next to each other on the keyboard, such as 'qwerty'.
People will often choose passwords like these because they are quick and easy to remember, or because they fear getting locked out of their account. Names of football teams also appeared on the list - Liverpool and Arsenal - and people are reminded not to use codes like this which are easy to guess for criminals looking to access your account and steal your money, reports Birmingham Live.
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Anyone with these passwords has been urged to change them for stronger alternatives. Lloyds warned: "Fraudsters can crack passwords like these in seconds. Don't make it easy for them." And in a message to its banking customers, it added: "While you can create strong and unique passwords, we'll use the latest security technologies to help keep you safe."
"If you're making a payment and we spot anything odd, we may ask you to call our Fraud Team. Or we'll send you a text message so you can confirm you're happy to proceed with the payment. If we think a payment looks out of the ordinary, we'll send you a unique six-digit passcode by text to confirm it's you making the payment. We'll never call and ask you to share this. Sometimes, if a payment looks suspicious, we might block it to keep your money safe."
Most common passwords used in 2022:
- password
- 123456
- guest
- liverpool
- qwerty
- arsenal
- 123456789
- password1
- 12345
- 12345678