Got locked out of my email for 3 days because of a 'security update'

Last month I woke up to find my Gmail locked and a message saying I needed to verify my identity with a phone number I hadn't used in 5 years. No backup codes worked, no recovery email was set up, and their automated system just kept looping me back to the same dead end. I spent 8 hours over three days trying to reach a real person at Google, but every support page just pointed me to the same broken verification process. Finally on day three I found a random forum post that mentioned a specific appeal form buried in their help docs, and that got me back in. Now I'm paranoid about every account I have and wondering if any of them are really 'mine' in any meaningful way. Has anyone else had a company's 'security' system almost cost you access to your own data?

3 comments

3 Comments

gavin2281mo ago

oh man, that reminds me of the time I tried to get into my old MySpace account from like 2008. it just kept asking me to confirm my identity by naming my top 8 friends from back then. I barely remember what I had for breakfast yesterday let alone who I thought was cool in middle school. what's the point of security questions if you're gonna forget all the answers yourself?

charles6401mo ago

You ever think security questions are just designed to make you feel bad about your own memory? I used to roll my eyes at people complaining about them until I got locked out of my email because I couldn't remember what street I lived on in 2005. Now I just make up answers and write them down somewhere I'll actually find.

the_max1mo ago

Spent an hour trying to guess what my childhood pets name was @gavin228 turns out I named my goldfish "Fishy" which was apparently not unique enough for their system.