Microsoft security code text how to#
Microsoft security code text password#

You should also change your security details associated with the account and, if possible, switch to a different form of two-step verification.ДЇiguring out how the hackers got your login and other personal details in the first place is much more difficult, but while you canвЂ™t change your name or address (easily) you can make sure that no other accounts use the same passwords. Effectively itвЂ™s a bank robbery, albeit digital rather than physical. Fortunately, the bank refunded the stolen money by the end of the day.Д«ut what you should do is to immediately phone the bank and explain that it wasnвЂ™t you who spent the money: itвЂ™s fraud. Unfortunately, the example this article opened with actually took place - it wasnвЂ™t hypothetical. What to do if your bank account gets hacked Put simply, if your bank only offers SMS, thatвЂ™s better than nothing, but you may well want to switch banks to one that works with an authenticator app, generates codes within the banking app itself or uses biometric authentication such as a fingerprint or your face. Google and Microsoft have Authenticator apps, but itвЂ™s down to the bank or service in question which methods they offer. This is a separate app that runs on your phone and generates codes. The ideal option is to use an authenticator app.

Microsoft security code text how to#

If your bank, email provider or any other app or service offers two-factor authentication, check if thereвЂ™s a choice on how to receive it. As Krebs explains in the blog post, the ecosystem of companies that anyone can use to silently intercept text messages intended for other mobile users is something thatвЂ™s only recently been discovered. WhatвЂ™s important to know is that, while itвЂ™s a very good idea to use two-factor authentication, SMS is the worst kind because itвЂ™s so insecure. The details of how the bad guys intercept the messages isnвЂ™t particularly relevant here, though if youвЂ™re interested you can read all about them in this KrebsonSecruity blog post.

Once theyвЂ™ve got your login details and your phone number, all they need to do is use one of several methods to redirect those SMS codes to a phone they control and they can get into your account. Once they've emptied your account, they switch off the redirect and you're none the wiser - until you get a low balance alert from your bank. For little effort and cost they can access a system where they can type your phone number into a box, hit enter and get your text messages redirected to them. Unfortunately, thatвЂ™s not the case: itвЂ™s worryingly easy for criminals to intercept those messages without you ever knowing. The theory is that only you have access to your phone, so no-one else could get hold of the code and pretend to be you.

Microsoft security code text password#

When you log into your account with your username, password and other credentials, a six-digit code is sent via SMS and you can only access your account once this has been entered. Text verification, as itвЂ™s also known, is widely used these days by banks, Microsoft 365 and many other well-known services. Regardless, you open the bankвЂ™s app on your phone, log in and discover that there's no mistake: your money is gone.Д«ut how? This is the first youвЂ™re hearing of it and youвЂ™re savvy enough to have set up two-factor authentication to prevent anyone from accessing your account. It's a shock but since you have thousands in the account you assume itвЂ™s a scam or just a mistake by the bank. You wake up, looking forward to working just one more day before the weekend but discover a text message from your bank that reads вЂњYour balance is below ВЈ100вЂќ.