

The authenticator method uses apps such as Google Authenticator, LastPass, 1Password, Microsoft Authenticator, Authy and Yubico. TOTP is more secure than SMS because a code is generated on your device rather than being sent across the network, where it might be intercepted. It works on a principle known as TOTP, or “time-based one-time password”. The authenticator method is more secure than 2FA via text message.

It’s probably the easiest of several types of scams that can circumvent 2FA.Īnd while carriers’ verification processes for SIM requests are improving, a competent trickster can talk their way around them. Any authentication code sent to that number then goes directly to the hacker, granting them access to the victim’s accounts. Pretending to be the intended victim, the hacker contacts the carrier with a story about losing their phone, requesting a new SIM with the victim’s number to be sent to them.

$2.5 billion lost over a decade: 'Nigerian princes' lose their sheen, but scams are on the rise Hackers have been known to trick mobile phone carriers (such as Telstra or Optus) into transferring a victim’s phone number to their own phone. However, while it may seem safe enough, it isn’t necessarily. Most of us are familiar with this method as it’s favoured by major social media platforms. The most common method is to be sent a single-use code as an SMS message to your phone, which you then enter following a prompt from the website or service you’re trying to access.
