What does successful PIN use prove?¶
It proves that the payment system accepted the correct PIN for the card or account. It does not identify the person who entered it.
Knowledge of a PIN is transferable¶
Family members, employees, associates or offenders may know a PIN through sharing, observation or storage with the card. A genuine card and correct PIN can therefore support an unauthorised transaction.
Corroborate the operator¶
Obtain verification result, terminal, time, transaction reference, card status and preceding failures. Preserve CCTV and receipts and compare card possession, reported loss, location, communications and other activity.
Do not infer that another user proves deliberate sharing when the acquisition route remains unknown. Report successful PIN verification unless wider evidence identifies the person.
The point to remember
Treat successful PIN use as an accepted authentication factor and use possession, merchant and contextual evidence to identify its user.
