Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

I got locked out of my Google account for a month

techcrunch.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

61–70 of 210 posts

Re: I got locked out of my Google account for a month

#61

Post by nasredin »

BenjiWiebe wrote: post #51
jstarfish wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm currently locked out of a Gmail account I have the password for but Google decided that isn't enough; it doesn't like my IP address and wants me to verify against a phone number I no longer have.

So I guess the diary should include a history of phone numbers. And maybe addresses to be safe.

...And the IP you used to sign up... and the city for that IP in the geolocation database at that specific date... and the exact User Agent string... and the time zones... and...

Or maybe they should stop being idiots and allow people with strong passwords to... just use passwords to authenticate.

Maybe some type of "I know what I am doing, kindly fuck off Google" option.

Re: I got locked out of my Google account for a month

#62

Post by ortekk »

Shoothe wrote: post #2

> On December 5th, I sent a note to a PR contact who I work with on Google-related news and I told him about my problem. He said he had gotten my case escalated and I should hear within 24 hours. Sadly in all these stories that end successfully there is an inside help from someone that has contacts in Google. I don't even want to think about what would happen to people that don't know anyone inside Google.

My AdWords account got locked a few years back. It was my first attempt to try AdWords on my website. I've loaded around $20 and it almost immediately got locked (not a single ad was shown/clicked). I could never unlock it or retrieve my money from it. So Google has my 20 dollars now.

Re: I got locked out of my Google account for a month

#63

Post by jandrese »

WovenTales wrote: post #36
hartator wrote: post #29

I don't know. It might be a unpopular opinion, but I am okay to be locked out if I forgot my password to my email. I prefer that to weaken security, and complex processes to sign in.

If that were all that could do it, sure. That's not the end of it, though. I was trying out anonymization methods a while back, and created an account for use through Tor + a VPN (yes, I know it's Google). I recently tried to get back into it, but since I wasn't "where I usually sign in" (and can't actually say what city they thought that was), I'm locked out. I have the correct password in my manager, and I can even…

Usually if you can SMS verify they will let you in. Google (and many other companies) insist on SMS not because it is secure (it's not) but because it requires account spammers (scammers) to put up some money (buy a phone) before they let you use the service too much. I would be surprised if you get through the registration process before they insist on SMS verification if you are coming out of a VPN provider netblock. And forget coming out of a TOR exit node.

Keeping your identity hidden from Google while using their services is a fools errand. Find some other email provider with less big data mining expertise.

Re: I got locked out of my Google account for a month

#64

Post by kuschku »

jstarfish wrote: post #41
dingo_bat wrote: post #35

To avoid such things, I have a notebook in my drawer in which I have all the passwords to all my online accounts written down. If I change a password, I update the entry. If I create any sort of online account, it gets added to the diary. I figured if someone bothered enough to physically steal my diary from my drawer, I'd have bigger problems to worry about than my YouTube credentials.

I'm currently locked out of a Gmail account I have the password for but Google decided that isn't enough; it doesn't like my IP address and wants me to verify against a phone number I no longer have.

> wants me to verify against a phone number I no longer have.

I had the same. There's a good chance someone else has that number now - add them on WhatsApp/Facebook Messenger/etc by phone number, Google their number and try to find them, or call them.

In my case, I was able to recover the account by communicating with the new owner, and him quickly sending me the 2FA code he got from Google when I tried to log in.

Re: I got locked out of my Google account for a month

#65

Post by ryandrake »

crazygringo wrote: post #10
cdubzzz wrote: post #9

> That same day I opened a second GMail account so I could have access to services like an email account if need be, even if it didn’t have any of my previous data in there. When service is this terrible, why stick with the bad provider? I generally find the whole article sort of depressing... “Google ignored my problems for a month. But now I have access again oh well yay!!”

Because what's the alternative? You can spend weeks moving all your data to Microsoft or Apple... and suffer lost messages when people don't update their e-mail for you... and then discover they're just as bad or worse? What's an alternative to Gmail+Drive+Apps that has as much functionality, ease of use and convenience, and at a comparable price, but guarantees you won't get locked out?

I just moved all my E-mail from Gmail to my own VPS running Exim. Took maybe two evenings of work including IMAP access and a basic spamassassin setup.

Re: I got locked out of my Google account for a month

#66

Post by mehrdadn »

WovenTales wrote: post #36
hartator wrote: post #29

I don't know. It might be a unpopular opinion, but I am okay to be locked out if I forgot my password to my email. I prefer that to weaken security, and complex processes to sign in.

If that were all that could do it, sure. That's not the end of it, though. I was trying out anonymization methods a while back, and created an account for use through Tor + a VPN (yes, I know it's Google). I recently tried to get back into it, but since I wasn't "where I usually sign in" (and can't actually say what city they thought that was), I'm locked out. I have the correct password in my manager, and I can even…

I'm confused, so you are answering every single security question correctly and you age logging in from your usual location without any kind of Tor/VPN/etc. and you still have no way to access that account? Or are you merely prevented from logging in via Tor/VPN?

Re: I got locked out of my Google account for a month

#67

Post by mehrdadn »

ortekk wrote: post #62
Shoothe wrote: post #2

> On December 5th, I sent a note to a PR contact who I work with on Google-related news and I told him about my problem. He said he had gotten my case escalated and I should hear within 24 hours. Sadly in all these stories that end successfully there is an inside help from someone that has contacts in Google. I don't even want to think about what would happen to people that don't know anyone inside Google.

My AdWords account got locked a few years back. It was my first attempt to try AdWords on my website. I've loaded around $20 and it almost immediately got locked (not a single ad was shown/clicked). I could never unlock it or retrieve my money from it. So Google has my 20 dollars now.

Chargeback?

Re: I got locked out of my Google account for a month

#68

Post by _jomo »

kuschku wrote: post #64
jstarfish wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm currently locked out of a Gmail account I have the password for but Google decided that isn't enough; it doesn't like my IP address and wants me to verify against a phone number I no longer have.

> wants me to verify against a phone number I no longer have. I had the same. There's a good chance someone else has that number now - add them on WhatsApp/Facebook Messenger/etc by phone number, Google their number and try to find them, or call them. In my case, I was able to recover the account by communicating with the new owner, and him quickly sending me the 2FA code he got from Google when I tried to log in.

That would be a clever phishing technique if you know your target no longer owns the number associated with an account.

Re: I got locked out of my Google account for a month

#69

Post by dingo_bat »

nasredin wrote: post #61
BenjiWiebe wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So I guess the diary should include a history of phone numbers. And maybe addresses to be safe.

...And the IP you used to sign up... and the city for that IP in the geolocation database at that specific date... and the exact User Agent string... and the time zones... and... Or maybe they should stop being idiots and allow people with strong passwords to... just use passwords to authenticate. Maybe some type of "I know what I am doing, kindly fuck off Google" option.

> Maybe some type of "I know what I am doing, kindly fuck off Google" option.

Tbf if you really knew what you're doing, you wouldn't be using gmail.

Re: I got locked out of my Google account for a month

#70

Post by kuschku »

_jomo wrote: post #68
kuschku wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> wants me to verify against a phone number I no longer have. I had the same. There's a good chance someone else has that number now - add them on WhatsApp/Facebook Messenger/etc by phone number, Google their number and try to find them, or call them. In my case, I was able to recover the account by communicating with the new owner, and him quickly sending me the 2FA code he got from Google when I tried to log in.

That would be a clever phishing technique if you know your target no longer owns the number associated with an account.

That's why it's so insane to consider it a safe 2FA source.

6 months. That's all it takes between the last time a user successfully used a phone number, and a new user getting assigned the same number with prepaid SIMs in Germany.

6 months is a damn short time.

Post reply on HN