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I can't access my 13+ year old gmail account because Google now requires I verify I have access to a phone number I've never owned. There is no 2FA on this acco

I can't access my 13+ year old gmail account because Google now requires I verify I have access to a phone number I've never owned. There is no 2FA on this account, I know my password, and have access to the "Recovery Email" (which gets emailed a "Somebody knows your password" warning whenever I attempt to sign in to the account with my password). I reached a real person at Google Domains and managed to get things escalated to "Specialist". Their response: "we can't help you, post about it on the community forums" (which I had already done 20 days prior). This account "owns" digital goods, thousands of songs, and many domain names. Google is actively stealing these things, but they don't care and, "can't help".

dencodev 6y ago
Have you considered calling the number tied to the account and asking them to help?
- jabo 6y ago
  IIRC only the last 4 digits of the phone number are shown.
- davidmurdoch 6y ago
  They only show the last two digits of the number. And I've only ever had two phone numbers in my life, and neither of them end with those digits.
  - ncann 6y ago
    Plus it is always a bad idea to give someone a code sent to your number. 99% of the time someone is trying to hack you and a necessary step is obtaining that code.
    - kuschku 6y ago
      For me that actually ended up the only way to gain access back to an old account of mine. Luckily I was able to cooperate with the new owner of the number, and he was helpful enough to give me the code that was sent, otherwise I'd have lost a Google account with several hundred euros of purchases on it, despite having the password, control of the backup email, knowing all security questions, and knowing the exact date the account was registered (the only issue was that mobile carriers here re-issue phone numbers after 6 months without any calls, and I had put the SIM into a tablet).
      - judge2020 6y ago
        The obvious issue with this is that the new owner of the number doesn't actually know if it's the owner of the old account trying to sign into it - it could be anyone trying to take over an account whos owner forgot to change the number for. And how do they know you're not trying to sign into their account? The text messages don't specify which account is being attempted or anything.
        kuschku 6y ago
        That's actually the big issue — but if you can meet with the person, and do the whole process IRL, it's much less risky.
childintime 6y ago
+1
jokethrowaway 6y ago
I'm in a similar situation with Apple. I can't access my 10 years old account even though I know the password and control the email attached to it because I don't remember my security questions and I don't have my recovery email anymore. I probably put rubbish data in the security questions as they weaken the security of the account. Funnily enough that password leaked and someone managed to take over my account (I wonder how they manage to bypass the security questions, sounds like a security vulnerability on Apple) and they're using it to register (I assume) stolen devices and install software. I get email notifications every time these people do something. I reached Apple support but they're unwilling to help, they even refuse to nuke the account as a last resort.
- davidmurdoch 6y ago
  I actually have the same issue with my Apple account I used back in the ipod days; they are now requiring that I answer my security question during log in. But I actually don't remember the answer to the security question, as I used to always put gibberish instead of a real answer. Back in those days these questions would only be used to reset your password, and I was confident I wouldn't forget the password. I've given up on getting that account sorted.
  - ghaff 6y ago
    Furthermore, the answers to security questions aren't always stable. "What was your first pet?" Well, I know how I answer this question because one dog in particular I sort of consider my first pet. But I can remember dogs we had before that one so my answer is a somewhat arbitrary one.
    - heavyset_go 6y ago
      By answering honestly, you also run the risk of having anyone that knows basic facts about your life being able to really make your life difficult. It isn't just people you cross paths with that could get into those accounts, it's scammers that want to social engineer you or have access to the numerous database leaks that are accessible to anyone with the Tor Browser installed. The answers to security questions are essentially passwords themselves, and they should be treated as such.
ncann 6y ago
Same thing with my Skype account. I have it logged in on both my phone and my laptop. One day it decides to automatically log me out on both and when I try to log in it insists on requiring sending a code to a phone number that I no longer have access to. So just like that I lost access to my long time Skype account even though I know the password, even though there's no 2FA setup, even though I'm trying to log in on 2 devices that I've logged in previously, from the same IP address. All support requests went nowhere. I wonder how many people lost their account like me because of these overzealous security measures.
heavyset_go 6y ago
> This account "owns" digital goods, thousands of songs, and many domain names. Google is actively stealing these things, but they don't care and, "can't help". I long for the day that they cross the wrong person with means to take them to court over their negligence.
- MaxBarraclough 6y ago
  My very-much-not-a-lawyer understanding is that their legal obligations and liabilities are minimal on account of Gmail being offered free of charge. Anyone know if that's true?
  - mrighele 6y ago
    > This account "owns" digital goods, thousands of songs, and many domain names. It seems it's not only about a free Gmail account.
  - edoceo 6y ago
    Its the terms of service users agreed to. Prices not relevant
    - MaxBarraclough 6y ago
      That doesn't sound right. If you charge money, you have to deliver a product that's fit for service. You can't take people's money then refuse to deliver. At least here in the UK, EULAs that say You have no recourse if we completely fail to deliver are generally disregarded in court, as it should be.
      - edoceo 6y ago
        But this scenario is neither a refusal or complete failure (debatable). But again, the terms of service are more important than the price factor. The big G say they can kick you off whenever/wherever. That it's free in price is just another way to give the "customer" (really just user) less power.
MeinBlutIstBlau 6y ago
I can't access my flickr account because it's tied to a Yahoo account which won't let me access unless I know the 2nd Yahoo account email address 2fa which is blurred out and yahoo won't let me access it because it's been locked even though I know all the info.
- ghaff 6y ago
  Flickr is no longer associated with Yahoo. It's owned by Smugmug. Even if you can log into Yahoo that probably won't give you access to Flickr any longer. (Smugmug also cut back significantly on what Yahoo provided for free accounts.)
maddyboo 6y ago
Same thing happened to a Bitbucket account of mine. I know the email and password, but the primary email is under a domain I lost access to. At some point, Bitbucket decided I needed to verify my email in order to sign in. Support was utterly unhelpful.

dencodev 6y ago

Have you considered calling the number tied to the account and asking them to help?

jabo 6y ago
IIRC only the last 4 digits of the phone number are shown.
davidmurdoch 6y ago
They only show the last two digits of the number. And I've only ever had two phone numbers in my life, and neither of them end with those digits.
- ncann 6y ago
  Plus it is always a bad idea to give someone a code sent to your number. 99% of the time someone is trying to hack you and a necessary step is obtaining that code.
  - kuschku 6y ago
    For me that actually ended up the only way to gain access back to an old account of mine. Luckily I was able to cooperate with the new owner of the number, and he was helpful enough to give me the code that was sent, otherwise I'd have lost a Google account with several hundred euros of purchases on it, despite having the password, control of the backup email, knowing all security questions, and knowing the exact date the account was registered (the only issue was that mobile carriers here re-issue phone numbers after 6 months without any calls, and I had put the SIM into a tablet).
    - judge2020 6y ago
      The obvious issue with this is that the new owner of the number doesn't actually know if it's the owner of the old account trying to sign into it - it could be anyone trying to take over an account whos owner forgot to change the number for. And how do they know you're not trying to sign into their account? The text messages don't specify which account is being attempted or anything.
      - kuschku 6y ago
        That's actually the big issue — but if you can meet with the person, and do the whole process IRL, it's much less risky.

childintime 6y ago

jokethrowaway 6y ago

I'm in a similar situation with Apple. I can't access my 10 years old account even though I know the password and control the email attached to it because I don't remember my security questions and I don't have my recovery email anymore. I probably put rubbish data in the security questions as they weaken the security of the account. Funnily enough that password leaked and someone managed to take over my account (I wonder how they manage to bypass the security questions, sounds like a security vulnerability on Apple) and they're using it to register (I assume) stolen devices and install software. I get email notifications every time these people do something. I reached Apple support but they're unwilling to help, they even refuse to nuke the account as a last resort.

davidmurdoch 6y ago
I actually have the same issue with my Apple account I used back in the ipod days; they are now requiring that I answer my security question during log in. But I actually don't remember the answer to the security question, as I used to always put gibberish instead of a real answer. Back in those days these questions would only be used to reset your password, and I was confident I wouldn't forget the password. I've given up on getting that account sorted.
- ghaff 6y ago
  Furthermore, the answers to security questions aren't always stable. "What was your first pet?" Well, I know how I answer this question because one dog in particular I sort of consider my first pet. But I can remember dogs we had before that one so my answer is a somewhat arbitrary one.
  - heavyset_go 6y ago
    By answering honestly, you also run the risk of having anyone that knows basic facts about your life being able to really make your life difficult. It isn't just people you cross paths with that could get into those accounts, it's scammers that want to social engineer you or have access to the numerous database leaks that are accessible to anyone with the Tor Browser installed. The answers to security questions are essentially passwords themselves, and they should be treated as such.

ncann 6y ago

Same thing with my Skype account. I have it logged in on both my phone and my laptop. One day it decides to automatically log me out on both and when I try to log in it insists on requiring sending a code to a phone number that I no longer have access to. So just like that I lost access to my long time Skype account even though I know the password, even though there's no 2FA setup, even though I'm trying to log in on 2 devices that I've logged in previously, from the same IP address. All support requests went nowhere. I wonder how many people lost their account like me because of these overzealous security measures.

heavyset_go 6y ago

> This account "owns" digital goods, thousands of songs, and many domain names. Google is actively stealing these things, but they don't care and, "can't help". I long for the day that they cross the wrong person with means to take them to court over their negligence.

MaxBarraclough 6y ago
My very-much-not-a-lawyer understanding is that their legal obligations and liabilities are minimal on account of Gmail being offered free of charge. Anyone know if that's true?
- mrighele 6y ago
  > This account "owns" digital goods, thousands of songs, and many domain names. It seems it's not only about a free Gmail account.
- edoceo 6y ago
  Its the terms of service users agreed to. Prices not relevant
  - MaxBarraclough 6y ago
    That doesn't sound right. If you charge money, you have to deliver a product that's fit for service. You can't take people's money then refuse to deliver. At least here in the UK, EULAs that say You have no recourse if we completely fail to deliver are generally disregarded in court, as it should be.
    - edoceo 6y ago
      But this scenario is neither a refusal or complete failure (debatable). But again, the terms of service are more important than the price factor. The big G say they can kick you off whenever/wherever. That it's free in price is just another way to give the "customer" (really just user) less power.

MeinBlutIstBlau 6y ago

I can't access my flickr account because it's tied to a Yahoo account which won't let me access unless I know the 2nd Yahoo account email address 2fa which is blurred out and yahoo won't let me access it because it's been locked even though I know all the info.

ghaff 6y ago
Flickr is no longer associated with Yahoo. It's owned by Smugmug. Even if you can log into Yahoo that probably won't give you access to Flickr any longer. (Smugmug also cut back significantly on what Yahoo provided for free accounts.)

maddyboo 6y ago

Same thing happened to a Bitbucket account of mine. I know the email and password, but the primary email is under a domain I lost access to. At some point, Bitbucket decided I needed to verify my email in order to sign in. Support was utterly unhelpful.