SIM swap horror story: I've lost decades of data and Google won't help

Post by abraham » Mon, Jun 17, 2019, 5:12 PM UTC

lotyrin wrote: post #153

iwasakabukiman wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I would even not mind something like one-time payments for support calls, for example pay $50 for a service call to get assistance in a case like this. I can just see the people raging about this on social media now. “Google charged me $50 to fix an issue with my account!” “Google won’t give me any help unless I pay them! Extortion artists!” Etc.

Make it something you can pay in advance, then. For a fee, you get marked as a high-risk/high-value account, get the recovery service and risky factors of authentication get extra scrutiny, etc.

Post by timwis » Mon, Jun 17, 2019, 5:14 PM UTC

heliodor wrote: post #34

A few suggestions: 1) Call your cellphone carrier and ask to set up a password/PIN to be used for when you call into the customer service phone number. 2) Consider your phone number and SIM card insecure. The phone carriers are ignoring the SIM swap problem even though they know how much damage it's causing. Give your phone number to as few companies as possible. Phone services such as Google Voice work without a SIM…

Post by jsty » Mon, Jun 17, 2019, 5:17 PM UTC

lotyrin wrote: post #153

iwasakabukiman wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I would even not mind something like one-time payments for support calls, for example pay $50 for a service call to get assistance in a case like this. I can just see the people raging about this on social media now. “Google charged me $50 to fix an issue with my account!” “Google won’t give me any help unless I pay them! Extortion artists!” Etc.

Make it something you can pay in advance, then. For a fee, you get marked as a high-risk/high-value account, get the recovery service and risky factors of authentication get extra scrutiny, etc.

Post by manigandham » Mon, Jun 17, 2019, 5:19 PM UTC

ineedasername wrote: post #84

Google really fails hard in the face of providing support when issues like this occur. The average person has to try various automated account recovery options which, as in the author's case, are readily changeable the moment the account is compromised, rendering them somewhat useless, and then users are out of luck. It's a situation that is mind-boggling. Users as asked to place a significant chunk of their digital…

Post by tpetry » Mon, Jun 17, 2019, 5:20 PM UTC

zyx321 wrote: post #69

tpetry wrote: post #8

The industry needs to learn that sms 2fa is not secure because getting a sim for someone else is so easy. And this happening in every country.

In times like these, I am glad to live in a stone age country like German, where it is near-impossible to get a new SIM without going to the store in person and presenting a government-issued ID.