7 costly gas station mistakes (2 25 25)

Author

Anthony Hazzard
February 25, 2025

With data breaches more common than ever, do you have good password hygiene? Find out more about this and what you should do later in this email. 

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💻️ Tech Tip From Kim Komando

Permission revoked: Can’t remember which permissions you’ve given to which apps on your phone or tablet? There’s an easy way to check. On Android, go to Settings, tap Security and privacy > Privacy > Permission manager. On iPhone, head to Settings > Privacy and Security > App Privacy Report. Join 575K people who get tech smart with my friend Kim Komando’s free newsletter, The Current.

💵 Avoid Using These 4-Digit PIN Codes

As prevalent as data hacks are, it’s astounding that some people still do the bare minimum to protect their financial accounts.

If you freeze your credit and check your credit card statements monthly, you’re off to a good start. But “password hygiene” is important as well.

Data breaches impacted more than 1.3 billion people in 2024. Among a database of more than 320 million passwords and four-digit PIN numbers, though, we’re still in the dark ages according to data.

The most common: 1234 and 1111. Of course, birth years, anniversaries and the last four of your Social Security number are obvious targets as well.

With our lives almost fully digital, you may have hundreds of passwords. It can be overwhelming to manage. But at least focus on your financial accounts and the other most sensitive things you password protect.

Though CNBC reported the top 50 most common PIN numbers, we’ve pulled the top 10 to demonstrate here:

  1. 1234

  2. 1111

  3. 0000

  4. 1342

  5. 1212

  6. 2222

  7. 4444

  8. 1122

  9. 1986

  10. 2020

📊 Stat of the Day

💸 3.5%: The cash holdings of respondents to a Bank of America according to a fund manager survey. That’s a 15-year low. It’s a sign that investors are “long stocks, short everything else,” as even fund managers are long on the so-called “Magnificent Seven” and other equities.

💰️ Deal Alert: Today’s Top Deals
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🎙️ Podcast

Did you receive a notice in the mail to set up something called a “trusted contact” last month? Don’t ignore it! Clark explains how trusted contacts work and why you need to talk to your financial institutions about it sooner rather than later. Also, airfare deals have been really great lately, but that may start to change soon. Clark shares how the airlines play the dynamic pricing game and his unique deal-hunting strategy for flight deals this year.

☎️ Need Money Help?

The Team Clark Consumer Action Center is a free helpline that can help you navigate your money questions. Call 636-492-5275. Visit clark.com/cac for more information.

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