Ebay constantly wanting mobile phone numbers and if you don't have one they now ask you to confirm

[dutchman48]

Any one else getting this junk when you log in. Asks for mobile and now when you say don't have one, they send you an email and you have to confirm the supposed new email address when it has been the same for years.

Why don't they just fix all the issues with the site instead of making it more and more difficult for people to use.

I certainly hope this does not continue every time I log in.

[ypdc_dennis]

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@dutchman48 wrote:

Any one else getting this junk when you log in. Asks for mobile and now when you say don't have one, they send you an email and you have to confirm the supposed new email address when it has been the same for years.

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I've never had that issue for eBay, I have had it for other sites like gmail -- if they really really insist on a mobile number I just give them my landline,

Then there are those people that can't understand why they can't send me a text message...

But I'm modern enough that I don't have a rotary phone any more...

-..-

[femmefan1946]

I'm with you there!

And what the heck is an SMS? I have an ongoing problem that is supposed to be curable by giving (not eBay) an SMS or having them send me one.

Gotta go tell those darn kids to get off my lawn now.

[e8group2007a]

SMS = SHORT MESSAG E SERIVICE ie a text message

[momcqueen]

I get that screen constantly. I've never given ebay my cell number and I don't plan to ever provide a cell number because I don't need the kind of junk text messages coming to my cell phone (which I sleep next to) that I get coming to my landline.

Ebay knows I have a smartphone because I've downloaded the ebay iPhone app and use it all the time. That's as much as I'm willing to share. I don't want notifications coming via text or whatever else they want to send me. 

Skip it. 

[dutchman48]

I could not skip it today as the remind me later link was gone and could only confirm after I said I don't have a cell phone and then got a message to check my email to do the confirmation.

They just have nothing better to do.

[momcqueen]

I seem to think I can bypass it by typing where I want to go in the browser bar when I see that.

[maximus7001]

It is called multi factor authentication. If your ebay, paypal AND email all get hacked you are pretty much sol and they get your credit cards and bank balance as well. If it is required that you have to authenticate with a code that only YOU can aquire then you cannot be hacked. In the next few years if a person in this situation does not have a device to authenticate with then too bad, no access.

Ubisoft has done it with their accounts among others and the whole industry will have no choice but to do it too eventually.  If you do not have a device that can run google authenticator then too bad, no access for you ever. It generates a new code every 30 seconds that expires after 30 seconds. Nobody but you can ever get this code.

Such a code is not randomly sent to you in the middle of the night, that is not how these things work.

If the hacker has got your ebay then he probably has your email as well so how can sending a code to email help? It defeats the purpose. People generally do not get "hacked", they get fooled by a phising attempt and/or they use the same passwords for everything.

[maximus7001]

If you were to get such a code at a random time then that would be a good thing as only you got the code and not the hacker that caused the code to be sent to only you by trying to get in. You would then know that something is up instead of being oblivious until everything is way too late to catch.

[maximus7001]

It prevents the oblivious from getting bitten by this:

PayPal

Your account has been limited Recently, there's been activity in your PayPal account that seems unusual compared to your normal account activities. Please log in to PayPal to confirm and updates your identity. To help protect your account, no one can receive money, send money, or withdraw money. In addition, no one can add money to your account, link a card, link a bank account, remove any bank accounts, remove credit cards, send refunds, or close your account. What's going on? We're concerned that someone is using your PayPal account without your knowledge. Recent activity on your account seems to have occurred from a suspicious location or under circumstances that may be different than usual.   Check your account identity (address, email, phone, etc.) to make sure they're accurate. Review and updates your account identity. You should also do the following for your own protection: 1. Log in to PayPal. 2. Go to the Resolution Center. 3. Update and Enter the updated your identity. Confirm My Account Now

Take note of what the hyperlinks point to.

[dutchman48]

But I am sorry to say that a mobile phone number is not random and it is my personal number and none of Ebay's business. They have my home number and that should be sufficient

[maximus7001]

Who said anything about a mobile phone number being random?  The reason ebay wants a cell phone number is what is being discussed here. It is about security. The text that is sent with the code cannot be intercepted by the crook who triggered it in the first place like an email could easily be by anyone anywhere once they are in. The crook just opens the email and clicks on the "it's ok it's me" hyperlink or copies and pastes "the code" That would be why an emailed link or code cannot be called multi factor authentication.

How can a code be texted to a home phone? Home phones are wires on a pole or in a bundle in and out of an apartment building with up to 50 lines from the whole street in a bundle passing through the laundry room. Real secure....

The people who resist extra levels of security out of paranoia are the first to whine and freak out when their stuff gets hijacked and they keep wondering why them when they were the cause in the first place. Then they try blaming  the company the account is with.

[dutchman48]

I know, I started the thread, it was you that totally changed the subject

[momcqueen]

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@maximus7001 wrote:

How can a code be texted to a home phone? Home phones are wires on a pole or in a bundle in and out of an apartment building with up to 50 lines from the whole street in a bundle passing through the laundry room. Real secure....

The people who resist extra levels of security out of paranoia are the first to whine and freak out when their stuff gets hijacked and they keep wondering why them when they were the cause in the first place. Then they try blaming  the company the account is with.

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No one here said a code should be texted to a landline. That's nonsense. Why text codes anyway? There are better ways to authenticate users and ways that don't mine my data. My passwords are strong and I exercise due diligence with my accounts. Your statement above is, quite frankly, conjecture designed to inflame the conversation as opposed to enlighten it.

[cumos55]

It is critical to understand that hackers are getting better with each passing day...... much, much better

It is most critical to protect one's "identity"  in the "age of computers".   It is too easy for someone to track you down

I work to keep my personal life separate from my professional life,  and then separate from my selling on eBay.

No accounts on Facebook, Twitter  and more....  They get hacked too easily...  The Government of Canada  went after Facebook... I believe ...for not protecting personal information   How many times  was Google hacked .... recently

There are other considerations.

Today  it is very easy to track a person on line....  All you have to know is name and address....  and persistence  will allow you to do a lot.

Many times  I track a buyer to the point that it is as if I was standing on the street and looking at where they live.... Name, address, telephone number.  And many times nothing is "private online....

Strange addresses.... Strange to me  but not to where they live.....  and several times  I have had to notify a new eBay user  that they left something out of their address on eBay

Our everyday emails are not encrypted....... Lots of controversy in the US if a government person uses personal emails  as opposed to protected government communications online.

The more ways there is for someone to be contacted.... the greater the probability of being hacked.....

I have never had a mobile phone, and never will.....  I used to have an answering machine on my land-line... but that was messed up with all kinds of unwanted contacts.  My contacts are regulated... minimized online.  That answering machine was full of junk.

There is a Do-not-call registry.....  But even that could be "fake"  Ooops

I did get a phone call where I did have a bit of fun.....  Forget what it was about....  But I did ask for  an address for the caller.  Why you ask....  Well I was going to bill her $100 a minute for this call....  A bit of hesitation,  and she hung up.

My mother had a similar call about someone who was to help her with her credit card....  She kept him going for 5 minutes... and then she  told him she did NOT have a credit card.... never did...  OOOPS

... and the person who teaches many seniors how to use a computer in Winnipeg, and work online... carefully...  Former teacher who is close to 100 years old..... if not there already!   Her age was my "surprise"

Seniors are too easily defrauded on line....  Because of what they do not know.. do not expect to happen....

Most recent situation... Did get a letter ... snail mail....saying I may be able to "inherit"  a major amount of money... Someone with the same last name as me  died without  anyone to inherit his millions of GBP.... 8.7 million pounds to be exact.

Same last name.... but then I do know my own personal history..... Ancestry....  How the last name was spelled..... in several languages.  My ancestry is not Great Britain..   This was an inheritance scam.

The less the better...  The less exposure online the better....Always be careful... Be careful.... always....  and never take anything for granted.

and with mobile phones..... nobody can say....  Use one... or you lose

[cpyue]

I have same annoying request from ebay everytime I login. Cannot eliminate it. Extremely annoying.

[ypdc_dennis]

ZOMBIE thread from 2017

[femmefan1946]

Fill in your landline.

I don't see why a mobile number is any more useful. Of course I don't necessarily have my mobile with me when I am out of the house.

For me it is a purse book and a slightly less useful watch combined.

[mananna]

I would like to disable it. I haven't had a permanent country of residence for a while and I do not have a fixed mobile number (or a landline). I have been locked out of a lot of important things such as bank accounts at very bad times because I no longer have this or that mobile number and cannot get text verification codes. For some reason, it doesn't occur to the people who make these things that "let's require text verification if they're not in their previous country" can lead to an impossible request, because SIM cards from one country don't always work in another. 

[tyler@ebay]

Hi everyone,

Due to the length of time that has passed since this thread began I have locked it from future replies. If this is still an issue that warrants discussion, don't hesitate to begin a new thread!