if you forget to tell financial institutions

I have a google voice number. Some institutions (synchrony bank for example) won't accept it as a valid number even though their 2fa texts are received. Same for prepaid. They can't link your name to the number using whatever means they're using.

With the above bank I had to wait to get a letter in the mail informing me of a pin I had to provide an 800 number representative.

However, because my account was partially set up, and everything was paperless, their snail mail "letter" also arrived paperless the following evening! Wrap your head around that for a minute or two.

The email informing me of said document delivery had an encoded link I needed to follow to review the letter (a pdf)- it wasn't just a matter of logging into the account, going to documents. So in the end, I still had to call their 800# to provide the 7 or 8 digit alpanumeric code, but didn't have to wait 2 weeks to get it by pigeon. The agent did not ask what form the letter came in.

What did this exercise accomplish? Not a damn thing more than could of been done had they accept the code they sent to my gv number in the first place.

From the perspective of the financial institutions, I get it. It would be far too easy for bad guys to pretend to be you and call the financial institution to change their record of your cell phone number so that 2-factor authorization went to the bad guys' cell phone and not yours. Once they had that connection, they could drain your accounts.

Sorry about the hits to your net worth.

I definitely don't blame the institutions, just had no idea it would be that much effort. I hadn't checked the 401s all year, no need to worry needlessly.

But it was in a sense impressive how not only was it a docusign to the email on file, but then a text link to the new cell where it opened up my camera (I had to allow access to the cam), then I scanned my DL front and back, it was verified and accepted per the app, and then it said to complete this transaction on your computer.

Interesting above too that a google voice or pay phone is not accepted, I think that's a good feature....

I woulda thought there would be an option to "try another way." Holy cow on my fidelity account I had a primary phone that was my work from 12.5 years ago! That I was able to login with as there isn't even any cell phone that I provided...

I have a few non financial accounts that I can't get into because I signed up so long ago two factor stuff wasn't a thing. Neither were texts, emails were the big thing. I used my landline, which, until recently, I had for 24 years for my phone number. Not capable of text messages. Moved this past June, had to give up the old number so I got a new landline and used that number.

I have resisted the whole 2 factor thing using my mobile, counting on email. Well now they force you to use a mobile number for the two factor thing and I reluctantly do it, why is my personal business.

Well I came across a site I hadn't used for a while they wanted to verify who I am so they would send a text to my old landline. Even if I still had that number I couldn't retrieve a text from it. No biggie it wasn't critical.

I wonder how many others have tried to text that old number.

Many years ago, for my google account, I got ten "codes" for two-factor-authentication for use when my cell phone didn't work. I needed it once (and surprisingly was able to locate the list!).

Making things difficult and making things more secure are often viewed as the same thing. Would a financial institution or other "sensitive" website send anyone some authentication codes for future use?

I've changed cell phone providers about 4 times and it's a relatively simple job to retain the old phone number. Was there a reason why you had to change numbers?

Good info. I also hate 2 factor authentication via cellphone text. Will be using password or mystery question for as I can.

Also I saw this at the airport. Eye-scanning for the TSA quick line. Stupid folks don't know they are collection bio-metrics and putting you in a database.

I think at present the biometrics program is still in the testing phase. As such you have the right to wait participation, although I wonder the consequences. If you do participate, and are a U. S. citizen, your image is supposedly removed from the database after 12 hours. Date from foreign nationals is retained for a longer period, two weeks as best I recall. The plan is outlined at https://www.tsa.gov/biometrics-technology

I personally don't care if they have my image; it is on my drivers license, my Global Entry card, my passport and probably at various stages of my life in Department of Defense records.

The counterpoise to all the grief of seemingly excessive security measures is the grief you get when the security measures aren't enough.

I make a routine practice for security reasons of checking my credit card transactions every day. One day I was surprised to learn that I had made about $800 worth of purchases at a gun dog supply store in Mississippi. As I lack a gun dog and have not been anywhere near Mississippi in a good many years, this was clearly a problem.

Somehow the malefactor had managed to misrepresent themselves as me well enough to change the address on my credit card account. So they were able to place a purchase intended to deliver something valuable to someplace in Texas.

Fortunately the store was more careful than was the credit card company, smelled something wrong, and had not shipped anything by the time I got in touch with them a few hours later.

I would rather go through the hassle of a lost cell phone than have my financial institutions use less secure ID methods.

My bank recently updated their ID procedure to allow a second backup phone# to be used as well as an email option.

Hacking and identity theft are multi billion dollar "industries" and it will only get worse as more and more financial transactions are done electronically.

A lost cell phone is easily handled by your provider. Any cell phone has a unique
mobile identification number (MIN) or mobile subscription identification number (MSIN) and using that the carrier can disable any specific phone and then provide a new phone with the same “user”number.

I was lucky that when I left my previous job, I was allowed to keep my phone number. Even though the number was originally from Verizon, I had no trouble transferring the number to a new phone on T-Mobile.
Mark

Yup, I'm one of those people that still has a landline, no texting that number, and if you move out of the 'exchange' area you cannot take it with you.

In order to get the iPhone 13 Pro 256 no trade for $310 this past September, it had to be a new line of service. This is the first time I changed it. My wife did it 2X. Last time, I was able to get the iPhone Xs 64 for $249, no trade, keep the old#, at the time it came out. The 13 pro was purchased the literal day the 14 pro came out, so one year old technology. I was on the fence since nothing was wrong with my Xs but $310 got me to bite...we're slaves to the providers in a sense play by their house rules...no different than when we drive on toll roads and get charged exorbitant dollars per mile lol

Changing numbers is not that bad, but I have been getting 2 kinds of texts not meant for me, volunteering at a pet shelter, and I think church related...likely the person who had the number prior...

Most of the time if you respond to one of those with simply "STOP" or "Unsubscribe" they'll stop sending them.

Really? Must have changed since I transferred (long ago) my landline number to a cell. Are you sure about that?

You went from a landline to a mobile, that can be done. I'm talking about a landline to a landline. I moved this past June and moved across the county, many exchanges away, and I was told I had to have a new number for a landline in the new place. It really sucks, I lived in the last house for 24 years and had that number. The landline I had before that was from two towns/exchanges over and I had to change it then too in order to have a landline in the new place.

Mobile service is great, when it works, my last house it didn't fare well inside and I was a mile from the City of Philadelphia, a well built up area. I'm not in the sticks now but in an area certainly not as built up, my experience told me to get another landline since I could not transfer the old one.

I also have a mobile number that I'd had for a very long time and several providers back to when Nextel was popular with the push to talk feature and was able to keep that.

Google Authenticator or similar apps are more secure than receiving a text to your smart phone. Find and read about "man in the middle attacks" for the explanation.

This past week, I've checked all my saved site logins and more, deleted or canceled out accounts I no longer use, changed and strengthened all my important passwords, checked for 2FA on sites, and added it to the sites not already 2FAed, etc. Ugh, it's taken a good day and a half of effort and that's with keeping my current password manager and only doing a fraction of my total accounts.

I also prefer using an authenticator app over a cellphone text, email or whatever and I also add, when offered, a secondary 2FA method as a backup.

It is well worth everyone checking all their accounts' passwords and such stuff since accounts created years ago that you may have forgotten can be removed, and weak passwords from the simple days of website security may need to be strengthened.

I probably should switch to a new password manager and in doing some web and YouTube searches, see that many of the now-recommended managers are able to import data exported from your old manager. I realize that I'll probably have to switch from my current free manager to one with a fee.

I switched from landline to mobile and keep same number. Before that, I had my landline with VOIP service which connect your "phone box" through ethernet. When I travelled or moved, I just brought the box with me, and connected it to internet. I had my landline with me whereever I went.

To me that's not a real landline.

50 years ago I was an intern at Bell Labs. To this very day I think a landline is something serviced by a pair of copper wires coming into my house with zero dependence on utility power, Internet provision by anyone, and so on.

And yes I understand that my clever telephones won't work right when utility power fails, and take care to have a plain old telephone hooked up somewhere in the house.

By the way, even 50 years ago POTS as an acronym for plain old telephone service was widely used at Bell.

I'm probably (no spring chicken) the youngest possible where a person would know how to make RJ11 ended cables or punch down on a 66 or 110 or Krone block. I have a Harris TS22a in the basement and this was one of my best friends in the early 2000's:

https://www.grainger.com/product/FLUKE-NETWORKS-In-Line-Modu...

Funny I was at a field office and couldn't fax out. So I opened a trouble ticket. The carrier was COX and the service was business internet i.e. cable internet and phone.

Tech support told me, try dialing a 1 before your phone number and your fax should go through. They were right. DOH!

Thanks for the reminder to hold on to this cell number for life!