Abandoning Authy

Clean house before you move out.

So I’m sitting here with an activist, helping them through security hardening stuff, and we’ve come to the point where they’re making an Authy account using a shiny new Google Voice number.

The person who just received this Google Voice number does not have a Network Solutions account. The prior owner did, and with a little leg work, what was theirs could be ours. I have a similar problem with one of my burner numbers - it used to be some sort of auto repair operation, and I used to get a couple calls or texts a week meant for them.

I don’t recall precisely where I said this previously, so I’ll just repeat it here.

Do not discard accounts unless you very specifically mean to do so, it is far safer to destroy them utterly.

I have a similar situation with Sovereign Challenge Unmet. SOCOM left the domain for their flagship annual conference expire and I registered it. That was in 2018 and they have mysteriously never attempted to reclaim it.

This is all super nit-picky and esoteric … until the day an uninvited visitor has drained your bank account and spammed your nudes to your family’s Facebook group. I have counseled folks who’ve faced both of these issues in the last twelve months. It’s grim business, I suggest you tighten up your game - and that advice goes for all of us, me included.