Lesson 2: The 2Factor Failure

Again, I'm sharing my stories with anybody new to cryptocurrency to help you navigate the new world.

Many of you may be familiar with 2FA (2 Factor Authentication). It has become a popular security measure to help you keep your accounts safe by deterring other from logging in. It is similar to SMS (aka text message) authentication where they send you a code prior to allowing you to log in. Due to the nature of cryptocurrency, 2FA has become the norm for exchange accounts and wallets alike. This whole process has been stream lined through an app known as Google Authenticator. It goes something like this:

Download the app
Enable 2FA on your account (exchange or wallet)
Scan bar code with your phone

Voila! You know have a totally unique log-in code which updates every 30 seconds or so to ensure YOU are the only one accessing your account. Beautiful. It really is a very slick system. Until......

I recently purchased a new iPhone. I copied everything over via iTunes and reset the old phone. Everything seemed to be in it's place except when I opened Google Authenticator to access one of my wallets, all the 2FA accounts were GONE!

I was able to recover my accounts by submitting tickets to each account host and further providing verification of identity. I then re-setup all of my 2FA's and took note of the 16-digit recovery phrase for each. Apparently they made that for a reason. (:

Happy trading!

Keith