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STOP ASKING ME TO VERIFY MY FUCKING PHONE NUMBER (lemmy.ml)

submitted 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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I DO NOT HAVE A FUCKING PHONE PLAN OR FUCKING PHONE FOR THAT MATTER. STOP ASKING ME FOR SHIT I DON'T FUCKING HAVE. EVERY FUCKING MAINSTREAM SERVICE OUT THERE JUST EXPECTS YOU TO HAVE A FUCKING PHONE AND PHONE PLAN THESE DAYS. WANT TO SIGN UP FOR A WEBSITE? VERIFY YOUR GODDAMN PHONE NUMBER. WANT TO TALK IN CERTAIN DISCORD SERVERS? NO SIREE. VERIFY YOUR PHONE NUMBER FIRST. LOCKED OUT OF ONE OF YOUR ACCOUNTS OVER SOME BULLSHIT REPORTS? VERIFY YOUR PHONE NUMBER TO UNLOCK IT. LITERALLY JUST FUCKING EXISTING? VERIFY, VERIFY, VERIFY! FOR THE LOVE OF FUCK, STOP PROMPTING ME TO VERIFY MY FUCKING HUMANITY WITH A PHONE NUMBER. I SHOULD NOT HAVE TO LOOK FOR FUCKING WORKAROUNDS AND BYPASSES TO GET AROUND THIS SHIT. EVEN IF I DID HAVE AN ACTIVE PHONE NUMBER, YOU AIN'T GETTING JACK SHIT FROM ME. THIS IS NOT MADE TO PROTECT YOU AND KEEP YOU SAFE, IT IS ONLY MADE SO THESE FUCKTARD COMPANIES CAN SELL YOUR DATA TO DATA BROKERS, WHO WILL THEN SELL THAT DATA TO ROBOCALLERS WHO WILL CALL YOU ALL THE FUCKING TIME! LOOK, YOU'RE NOT GETTING MY NUMBER. IF I HAVE TO FIND FUCKING FAKE PHONE NUMBERS OR SIGN UP TO TEMP NUMBER SERVICES, THEN SO FUCKING BE IT, BUT I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO. I SHOULD NOT HAVE TO POTENTIALLY BREAK THE FUCKING LAW TO GET SOME FUCKING SENSE OF PRIVACY. I LITERALLY HAVE A NUMBER ON TEXTNOW THAT IS BASICALLY FUCKING USELESS AND IS ONLY USABLE FOR MAKING CALLS AND TEXTING. EVEN IF I WAS ABLE TO USE THAT NUMBER TO GET A VERIFICATION CODE IN THE FORM OF A SMS, IT WOULDN'T WORK, BECAUSE "OH, YOU NEED TO SIGN UP FOR ANOTHER FUCKING SUBSCRIPTION (LOCK-IN NUMBER) TO GET VERIFICATION CODES"! FUCK, I CAN'T EVEN PARTICIPATE IN SOME TWITCH CHATS DUE TO THIS BULLSHIT BECAUSE SOME FUCKING STREAMERS SET UP THIS STUPID-ASS 'VERIFIED ACCOUNTS ONLY CHAT' BULLSHIT THAT FORCES YOU TO VERIFY VIA PHONE NUMBER TO ACCESS THEM. AND GUESS WHAT? MY TEXTNOW NUMBER? FUCKING USELESS ON ABOUT 90% OF SERVICES ON THE FUCKING INTERNET! WHY? OH, WELL, BECAUSE SOME FUCKING 'GENIUS' DECIDED TO MAKE IT HARDER FOR PEOPLE LIKE ME BY BLOCKING VOIP NUMBERS COMPLETELY. AND TEXTNOW IS A VOIP SERVICE. IF I DO TOO MANY ATTEMPTS TO VERIFY, I GET 'RATE LIMITED'. FUCK. OFF. GIVE ME ANOTHER FUCKING WAY TO VERIFY BECAUSE YOU ARE SURE AS FUCKING HELL NOT GETTING ACCESS TO MORE OF MY DATA! I WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO EVEN "START" THIS PROCEDURE, ANYWAY, BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE A FUCKING PHONE TO BEGIN WITH! DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH FUCKING PHONE PLANS COST THESE DAYS? WELL, HUNDREDS, MAYBE EVEN THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS. DO YOU REALLY EXPECT ME TO GO BUY A FUCKING PHONE PLAN THAT IS OVERPRICED AS SHIT, GET A PHONE NUMBER, AND VERIFY WITH IT? OH, FUCK YOU. AND GUESS THE FUCK WHAT? GUESS WHO LOVES PHONE NUMBERS? FUCKING DATA LEAKERS. SHOULD I EVEN REMIND YOU ABOUT THE TWITCH DATA LEAK THAT TOOK PLACE OVER 2 YEARS AGO? PERSONAL INFORMATION ACCESSED. THAT POSSIBLY INCLUDED PHONE NUMBERS. THAT MEANS THAT THE PEOPLE WHO GOT BREACHED PROBABLY HAD A SHIT-TON OF ROBOCALLS. GODDAMNIT, THE INTERNET IS NOT A FUCKING EXCLUSIVE CLUB, YOU GODDAMN DICKWEEDS. BACK WHEN I WAS AROUND THE INTERNET, YOU DIDN'T NEED TO GIVE OUT JACK SHIT WHEN SIGNING UP FOR WEBSITES OR PARTICIPATING IN CHAT. HOLY FUCK, IRC DIDN'T EVEN NEED THAT SHIT. AIM DIDN'T NEED IT. YOU COULD JUST MAKE A FUCKING ACCOUNT ON THE AOL WEBSITE OR YOUR IRC CLIENT, AND BOOM, YOU COULD TALK TO ANYONE IN YOUR CONTACTS. NO STRINGS OR ANYTHING ELSE ATTACHED. BUT NOWADAYS, YOU HAVE TO GIVE OUT A SHIT-TON OF PERSONAL INFO TO ACCESS NEARLY ALMOST EVERYTHING, AND THAT INCLUDES HAVING A PHONE NUMBER, BECAUSE IF YOU DON'T HAVE ONE, THEN YOU ARE APPARENTLY JUST FUCKED, BECAUSE EVERYONE EXPECTS YOU TO HAVE ACCESS TO A FUCKING CELLULAR DEVICE. BACK IN THE 2000S, HAVING A FUCKING PHONE WAS A FUCKING NOVELTY. YOU COULD EVEN CONSIDER YOURSELF LUCKY IF YOU HAD ONE. NOW, EVERYONE EXPECTS YOU TO HAVE ONE. LIKE, WHAT THE FUCK? I HATE THE FUCKING FAKE-ASS EXCUSES COMPANIES GIVE BY CLAIMING THAT HAVING A PHONE NUMBER MAKES YOU MORE SECURE. BRO, THAT IS A FUCKING LIE AND A HALF. WHERE'S MY FUCKING LIE DETECTOR? ALL IT DOES IS GIVES DATA-HUNGRY COMPANIES ACCESS TO MORE OF YOUR INFORMATION, AS IF THEY DON'T HAVE FUCKING ENOUGH OF IT ALREADY. I MISSED OUT ON SO MANY GODDAMN COOL THINGS BECAUSE OF THIS SHITTY-ASS FORCED PHONE NUMBER VERIFICATION. I FUCKING MISSED OUT ON MONSTER HUNTER FRONTIER WHEN IT WAS STILL UP AND RUNNING DUE TO THIS BULLSHIT. NOW, IT IS FUCKING SHUT DOWN FOREVER AND I MISSED OUT ON IT ENTIRELY BECAUSE OF OVERZEALOUS VERIFICATION. I TRULY THOUGHT THAT PHONE VERIFICATION WAS GOING TO BE EASY AS THERE ARE SEVERAL DIFFERENT WEBSITES WHERE YOU CAN RECIEVE SMS TEXTS WITH EITHER 'REAL' OR 'FAKE' PHONE NUMBERS. NOPE! NOT ONLY DOES THE PHONE NUMBER NOT HAVE TO BE ALREADY USED BY TOO MANY PEOPLE, BUT IT ALSO HAS TO SPECIFICALLY NOT BE A VOIP NUMBER. I MIGHT AS WELL SAY 99% OF THE ENTIRE FUCKING INTERNET DON'T SUPPORT THESE FUCKING NUMBERS. THEY MIGHT AS WELL TELL YOU TO FUCK OFF AND BUY A PHONE PLAN. "DO YOU GUYS NOT HAVE PHONES?" MIGHT AS WELL SUM UP TWO-FACTOR AUTHENTICATION ENTIRELY. DOES IT LOOK LIKE I HAVE A FUCKING PHONE? THEN DO NOT ASK ME FOR A FUCKING PHONE NUMBER OR ASK ME TO USE ANYTHING THAT REQUIRES AN APP! I FUCKING HATE THOSE GODDAMN 'AUTHENTICATOR' APPS BECAUSE OF THIS AS WELL, BECAUSE THEY 'ALSO' REQUIRE YOU TO HAVE ACCESS TO A PHONE. WE ALREADY PAY FOR FOOD, HOUSING, ELECTRICITY, INTERNET, WATER, AND OTHER ESSENTIALS. STOP ASKING ME TO GET A FUCKING PHONE PLAN AND PUT IN MY FUCKING PHONE NUMBER JUST TO ACCESS NEARLY HALF OF THE ENTIRE FUCKING INTERNET. BESIDES, YOU WON'T BE GETTING MY ACTUAL PHONE NUMBER EVEN IF I "DID" HAVE ONE, SO TOUGH FUCKING SHIT. GO ASK OTHER FUCKING PEOPLE TO PUT IN THEIR GODDAMN PHONE NUMBERS, BECAUSE THAT IS OBVIOUSLY YOUR FUCKING DAY-TO-DAY ACTIVITY.

FUCK. YOU. ALL. 🖕

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[-] [email protected] 48 points 3 weeks ago

I don't know how you function without a phone. This rant indicates the answer is...not well.

[-] [email protected] 12 points 3 weeks ago

"Do you guys not have phones?"

This is literally every company in a nutshell when they ask you to enter in a phone number and it turns you do not have access to one. I hate that this has become the norm.

[-] [email protected] 17 points 3 weeks ago

Yeah, I mean, when society originally standardized around the telephone being a necessity, you also would've had a hard time then too.

You could buy a very cheap phone on a cheap prepaid plan and that would resolve this issue, but you're just against it on principle?

[-] [email protected] 4 points 3 weeks ago

Outright refusing to give companies more of my personal information. They have enough of the shit as it is and I am not trusting them with my information because you KNOW they will send it off to data brokers or use very poor security and protection methods to keep all of your data quote-unquote 'anonymous'. Data leakers LOVE shit like that, and Twitch had a big data leak in 2022 that resulted in personal info being accessed, and that possibly included the phone numbers of verified Twitch accounts.

[-] [email protected] 7 points 3 weeks ago

If you use the cheap phone only for uses like this, it's not a very useful tool for any data miner. What the hell good is a phone number that basically isn't used? You can even turn off the ringer permanently and keep it powered off when not needed. So again I ask, is it just the principle? Surely you know you don't actually have to use the phone for every day use -- you already live without that.

[-] [email protected] 5 points 3 weeks ago

It's the principle because EVERY FUCKING COMPANY expects you to have access to a phone. I would rather NOT use a phone than potentially have my phone number get leaked later on because of the company having poor as fuck security.

[-] [email protected] 3 points 3 weeks ago

What the hell good is a phone number that basically isn’t used? You can even turn off the ringer permanently and keep it powered off when not needed

[-] [email protected] 3 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

That's not the point I am trying to make. The point is that companies use very poor and very bad security to keep your phone number quote-unquote 'protected'. Data leakers love it when companies have poor security as it makes it easier for them to attack their customers and expose their personal information. 2 years ago, Twitch suffered from a huge data breach that resulted in personal info getting accessed, which possibly included the phone numbers of verified users, because you have to enter in a phone number to be considered a 'verified account'. Look, I do not trust these huge megacorps with my phone number if I 'did' have one. Besides, they will just sell your data to data brokers as it is, in which completely eliminates any sense of 'privacy' they claim to provide when you are forced to add two-factor authentication. The thing is, I care about my 'personal information' being 'personal' as it should be to begin with. The only time that having to give out your personal info sort-of makes sense is when you are needing to complete your taxes/bills, or when you're entering shipping details on Amazon or eBay. Any other thing is just them wanting your personal information just to be wanting it.

[-] [email protected] 4 points 3 weeks ago

So yes, it's a principle thing. You refuse to respond to the fact that a single purpose puppet phone exposes you to little to no risk.

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[-] [email protected] 35 points 3 weeks ago

Nice rant. A+ venting

[-] [email protected] 31 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

I got an out of the blue call from my bank trying to pitch me on some free advisor service that they offer. I was bored, so I heard them out.

10 mins in they transfer me to someone who wants wants me to verify number by reading back a number sent via SMS.

I got immediately super suspicious and told them I wasn’t doing that and asked for a callback number. The guy understood and suggested I find the number on their website and call that (for the record, this is the correct action. A number that came from a corporate website is safer than one given by a stranger over the phone).

They had called me, and wanted me to verify my number. Also, the message they sent to me came from the same number as the normal 2-factor system I use to log in. Except unlike all previous messages this one omitted “don’t share this with anyone.”

I called them back and they verified that they did indeed call me. I told them their system was fucked. They confirmed that it was a new system.

Similarly, I was fixing some Verizon bill bullshit and they texted me a URL to verify my number. I have a feature phone. So they sent me an SMS that had the “Verizon will never ask for this number.” I told the guy that the text said he wouldn’t ask for the number. He said “yeah, but I’m Verizon, and I need that number,” completely disregarding how ridiculous the situation was.

They eventually sent me an email.

[-] [email protected] 16 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Jesus fucking Christ, can companies stop making shit so fucking overly complicated?

It's like everything has to be a fucking overly complicated maze or puzzle these days.

[-] [email protected] 10 points 3 weeks ago

Oh I didn’t even mention my health insurance. Every time I submit a claim, I need to verify my email address. I am already logged in to my account. I can view all of my past records and personal information. But when I want to submit a claim, I need to verify my email address. EVERY. TIME.

Some times I put it off for a few months and have a backlog of weekly therapy to submit. I have to verify my email address 5-6 times in a row all on the same machine during the same session.

I mean, I know they’re just hoping I give up. Half of my recent claims were denied for “missing information.” They wanted me to snail mail in a form with all the info I had definitely already included. I called them and they were like “oh oops. We’ll have this fixed in 17 days.”

Fuck United Healthcare.

[-] [email protected] 4 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

That only further strengthens my point. Companies just LOVE to make things as overly complicated as fucking possible. I don't think I need to tell you how complicated TurboTax makes things. Their service is like trying to find a fucking needle in a haystack.

[-] [email protected] 5 points 3 weeks ago

It's by design mate and a lot of folks unfortunately will tell you "They don't have anything to hide" so they contribute and are part of this problem...

[-] [email protected] 3 points 3 weeks ago

Complete asshole design, I swear to God... -_-

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[-] [email protected] 20 points 3 weeks ago

Amen!

[-] [email protected] 13 points 3 weeks ago

Today was officially my breaking point when Discord asked me YET AGAIN to enter a fucking phone number.

I am getting sick and fucking tired of every fucking site on the Internet expecting you to have a fucking phone! 🤬

[-] [email protected] 9 points 3 weeks ago

Right?! And even if you did have a phone, why tf would you share it with some fuckin randos with unknown (and most assuredly shite) privacy policy and security? They'll just sell your number to whoever! Gee, wonder why I'm getting so many fuckin scam calls lately! Bunch bastards!

[-] [email protected] 3 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Yep, mentioned this in the rant.

"THIS IS NOT MADE TO PROTECT YOU AND KEEP YOU SAFE, IT IS ONLY MADE SO THESE FUCKTARD COMPANIES CAN SELL YOUR DATA TO DATA BROKERS, WHO WILL THEN SELL THAT DATA TO ROBOCALLERS WHO WILL CALL YOU ALL THE FUCKING TIME!"

Thank fucking GOD for services who stop fucking calls like this. Robokiller, especially. They not only block robocallers from calling you, but they also call the robocallers using a fake voice and basically fuck with the robocaller who attempted to call you. And you get to hear every fucking call that Robokiller makes to these scumbags, and they're ALL fucking amusing and entertaining.

NOTE: Sadly, you need to have a smartphone to use Robokiller, which is a darn shame.

[-] [email protected] 3 points 3 weeks ago

Robokiller

the roborevenge radio thing is pretty sweet. Screw those spam/scam callers.

[-] [email protected] 3 points 3 weeks ago

I have heard some Robokiller calls and so far all of them have been entertaining. It is like that website 'PrankDial', but it's used with good intentions and not for pranking people.

[-] [email protected] 20 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

PSA: In the US, Supercuts will not cut your hair if you do not first create an account (First Name, Last Name, Phone Number) with them. Apparently, arriving in person, waiting an hour and paying in cash is no longer supported.

That is all.

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[-] [email protected] 19 points 3 weeks ago

I just want to say I LOVE YOU!

And YES you are RIGHT! And YES FUCK these fuckers!

I'm with you!

[-] [email protected] 16 points 3 weeks ago

Preach, Lemming!

[-] [email protected] 12 points 3 weeks ago

Fucking forced phone verification is making me go fucking crazy 🤪🔫

[-] [email protected] 15 points 3 weeks ago

And the worst part is when you go looking for a way to complain about this, the feedback form requires A FUCKING PHONE NUMBER.

[-] [email protected] 9 points 3 weeks ago

Once again, the point of my ENTIRE rant has been proven with this single reply.

Might as well make everything require a fucking phone number these days.

[-] andrew_bidlaw 12 points 3 weeks ago

I hate that this shit is normalized. Some countries have a strict rule about linking your real identity to the sim card you purchase, so that gets even more vile. Surprising to no one, that doesn't help with bots or bad actors.

[-] [email protected] 12 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

And then they act all fucking surprised Pikachu face when they find out that hackers leaked personal information of customers because their goddamn systems use outdated fucking security which feels 20 fucking years old.

"Oh my god, we're so sorry, we didn't know that would happen"

You're LITERALLY the one still using outdated as fuck security! Improve and update your fucking security to stop attacks like this!

[-] [email protected] 4 points 3 weeks ago

Hmm, it's almost like the 2011 PlayStation Network breach that affected 77 million accounts happened because of bad security...

It's almost like that could have been avoided entirely... 🤔

[-] [email protected] 4 points 3 weeks ago

Mate LAWS are for LAW ABINDING CITIZENS! Bad people DON'T GIVE A FUCK about any law!

I wonder when will people understand this simple statement ???

This applies to any law "ideea"...

[-] [email protected] 11 points 3 weeks ago

OK. Please upload your citizen ID to verify you're not a not.

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[-] [email protected] 8 points 3 weeks ago

Interesting rant. Just wanted to ask if you dont have the option for prepaid SIM cards where you live? I know where I am you can buy a prepaid card for like 5-10€ and you dont have to give any personal info.

[-] [email protected] 7 points 3 weeks ago

And SIM cards require access to a phone, which I, again, don't have. And even if I DID have access to a phone, AND had a prepaid SIM card, I bet websites would 'still' want me to enter in a fucking phone number because these companies want to harvest any and all of your data so they can sell it to data brokers who will use that info for malicious purposes, such as robocalls.

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[-] [email protected] 6 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

!the_[email protected] would love this.

[-] andrew_bidlaw 4 points 3 weeks ago

Verifying your phone number => cranking your hog.

[-] [email protected] 4 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

I truly hate that shit like this is normalized. Every site on the planet just expects you to cough up that fucking dough, get a phone plan, and buy a phone. Buying a phone ALONE is incredibly fucking costly. But no, services also expect you to buy a phone plan just so you can access the restricted shit which requires 2FA. The day I will add two-factor authentication is the day when I know that my phone number is private like the rest of my personal info should be (if I had a phone, that is). Why the fuck would you even trust goddamn megacorps with your phone number as it is? All they will do is sell it to data brokers like they always fucking do with your personal info. It is not about making you more secure, it is about having more access to your information. Period.

[-] [email protected] 6 points 3 weeks ago

And dont forget the sites that expect you to have a physical phone. Having a VoIP line is no good for many things.... Google will refuse VoIP numbers, even if you can get sms through it.

VoIP numbers are too easy to cycle.

Remember 10 years back, companies were MANIC to have verified emails.

Now they want verified cellphone es

Next they will want verified face scans..... Try applying for gov assistance without submitting to id.me full face scan

[-] [email protected] 5 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

(Your Local Area Code) 867-5309

Pretty much works anywhere- nobody likes giving their number.

Thank you, Tommy Tutone!!

[-] [email protected] 7 points 3 weeks ago

Please enter the verification code sent to your device

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[-] [email protected] 3 points 3 weeks ago

Birth of a copypasta. Too bad the all-caps make it hard to read. Care to edit into mixed case?

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[-] [email protected] 3 points 3 weeks ago

I used to use discord a lot for the different games I played, I started using it less because of privacy concerns. I had my phone number linked to discord for "security" but once I unlinked my number since SMS is shitty verification anyway nearly all of the servers I was in blocked me from sending any messages or reacting to people with emotes. I had to stop using discord for all but one server my friends run. I'd like them to use something else but they are normies who don't care. I use an authenticator app for discord for security but that isn't good enough for discord, I NEED to "verify" my phone number by having it constantly linked. Bullshit.

BTW you can use authenticator programs for PC if you do not have a smart phone or want to install an app. I use KeePass for my PC (and phone). Pretty much open source is good for this stuff, just make your own backups. Very important to have backups. You can use something like Yubikey on your PC too (that can also work on a phone). Authenticator apps don't ask for your phone number, at least not the ones I use. I'm adding this because I do think it is important for security to have MFA, just not shitty ones like only email and SMS. My debit and credit card companies only deal with email and SMS, it is infuriating because that is where I want MFA the most.

[-] [email protected] 4 points 3 weeks ago

First paragraph: That is a server issue, not discord (enforced), though discord is stupid too; requiring a verified phone number is the highest level of trust/security one can select on a discord server. I've never run into one where that setting is active myself, and it's not on my server either, but just some clarity. It's an attempt to make it difficult to attack servers/users via the fact that having multiple phone numbers can get expensive, and most potentially harmful users are just butthurt teenagers raging at nothing, but with no money so the potential situation (repeat ban evasion etc) is nullified. It's low-friction for the masses, and is moderately effective at its task. That's why they use it.

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[-] [email protected] 3 points 3 weeks ago

Being restricted access to a Discord server over phone verification for the 10,000th time in a row today was the final straw for me, and that is what drove me to my breaking point and is what encouraged me to make this long and rage-induced rant. I am glad to know I am not alone when it comes to Discord being overzealous with its phone verification system.

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this post was submitted on 21 Jun 2024

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