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Digital security & AI

Verification-code account takeover

Requests to verify identity or recover an account obtain codes for unauthorised logins or registrations.

See response steps Share this in a workshop
A physical red padlock resting on a computer keyboard

If you have one minute

Pause, then verify independently.

Someone asks you to forward a code

Before paying

Read the code message's actual purpose

See verification steps →

If you paid or shared details

Stop sharing and check active sessions

See response steps →

Start with these three signs

  • Someone asks you to forward a code
  • The code's purpose contradicts the story
  • A verification arrives without your request

How the situation unfolds

  1. Contact

    Support messages, buyer chats, or fake friends' requests.

  2. The lure

    Send the digits to prove you are a real person.

  3. The demand and outcome

    The code's real service may be unrelated to the chat; sharing it authorises another person's action.

Verify these things before paying

  1. Read the code message's actual purpose
  2. Never share login or payment codes
  3. Enter codes only in official flows you started

Already engaged or paid?

  1. Stop sharing and check active sessions
  2. Remove unknown devices and change passwords
  3. Notify the platform and affected contacts

Contact your payment provider and local police promptly. The responsible institution must confirm whether a payment can be stopped, disputed or returned.

Keep these records

Verification text
Code-request messages
Unknown-device records
Account-change notices

Keep originals and organise working copies. Never give strangers verification codes, banking passwords, private keys or seed phrases.

Original references

  • Federal Trade Commission (FTC)Publisher location：United States · EnglishOpen the original reference ↗https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2021/10/google-voice-scam-how-verification-code-scam-works-how-avoid-it
  • Federal Trade Commission (FTC)Publisher location：United States · EnglishOpen the original reference ↗https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2024/03/whats-verification-code-why-would-someone-ask-me-it

This page summarises public prevention guidance to help recognise methods. It is not an enforcement conclusion about a particular incident. Check the source page for its original title. Procedures and reporting routes vary by jurisdiction. Compiled October 2026.

Related situations

Smishing and fake logins

Billing, rewards, or login alerts lead to fake pages that capture passwords and payment details.

Read the warning signs and checks

QR phishing and swapped payment codes

A QR code is only a link or instruction; a replaced code can send you to a fake site or wrong payee.

Read the warning signs and checks

Fake tech support and virus pop-ups

Scare pop-ups claim an infection to sell fake repairs or obtain device access.

Read the warning signs and checks