Verification codes through AUTHMSG

[Cathie19]

Howdy fellow hosts and admin @Quincy , @Stephanie 

Just wanting your feedback on these text messages I’ve received. What are your spider antennae thinking?

So I have received three text messages, in the last four days, coming through the AIrbnb text message number, AUTHMSG, that has been safely used, over the years.

Current Text message:

“ <#>Your Airbnb verification code is: (four digit number).
Don't share this code with anyone; our employees will never ask for the code.

” a numerical and number code combination“

Each text has a different four digit code

Each has the SAME ending: “numerical & number letter mix” which has NEVER appeared on previous AIrbnb text messages.

I have received no email notifications that alterations /editing have taken place on my listing. I’ve been checking for changes.

It certainly is a bit unnerving as I’m not actioning anything ( other than sleeping) or requesting  a verification code to enter/ log on.

Thoughts? 

I believe my password is solid and that any verification codes are required to come to my mobile. I also haven’t sighted any changes to my listing.... 

*** Have any of you been receiving codes that don’t make sense? 

Cheers!

Cathie

(PS: Tried to direct message admin staffer @Stephanie, but I’m not being allowed to send it to you.)

[Melodie-And-John0]

Me too @Cathie19 , I was wondering the same thing, I have been getting them randomly since may 2019!  Thanks for asking.  JR 

[Cathie19]

What’s interesting @Melodie-And-John0, is I’ve only received them previously, if I’ve been wanting access or working from my phone ( I think)

Not when working from the PC, laptop or iPad.

These three particular text messages and codes have come through when I’ve been sleeping or with the phone on snooze from the evening before..... it’s the extra number/alphabet code that is “new” to the text messages. Hopefully,  a non-sinister mystery!

[Melodie-And-John0]

Hopefully our Mod squad can shake this out for us!   

[Cathie19]

Yep, got another one this morning.... This is crazy!

[Megan780]

I was just about to ask the same thing!!! I’ve just updated the app through the App Store and hope that stops it?

[Cathie19]

Can you let us know please @Megan780?  You might need to give it 72 hours.... 💐

[Ann72]

@Cathie19  Definitely getting one of these a day.  If they are from Airbnb, it's a glitch.  If they're not from Airbnb, it's a possible security breach - i.e., some entity has all our phone numbers.

We can always look at our own Activity tabs to see if anyone unauthorized has attempted to log in to our accounts, don't forget.

It's a good thing you're alerting our Mod Squad (as @Melodie-And-John0 has dubbed them!).  Many hosts and guests have been getting these:

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Help/AUTHMSG/m-p/1412314

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Help/Help-Scam/m-p/1412275

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Help/Possible-Account-being-hacked-and-review-not-showing/m-p/14...

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Help/Hello-Everyone-I-m-new-here/m-p/1410872

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Help/Random-Activation-codes/m-p/1412383#M308143

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/Frequent-texts-from-AirBnB/m-p/1406841#M334786

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Help/Verification-code-sent/m-p/1405853#M306843

[Cathie19]

My hope @Ann72, @Megan780  & @Melodie-And-John0 is that it’s an incredibly annoying glitch.

If it’s a glitch the problems:

-  If I don’t have my phone on silent/night mode, it’s going to wake me. ( Not cool at all!)

-  If this is a glitch it is “Crying Wolf” to hosts. The worry will be we will begin to ignore the alert and it may be a real security breach.

If it’s a security breach, then I need more than a text message to let me know, including an email notification. Same again... the constant texts no matter what, are breeding host complacency, a huge danger for us as well as @Airbnb. It it’s a breach, the lost time for investigating and setting things right, is all a monetary cost to everyone....

[Ann72]

Extremely well said, @Cathie19!  It really needs to be addressed!

[Melodie-And-John0]

@Lizzie , any chance you can shake out the source of these annoying and possible security challenged texts we have been receiving?  Seems like lots of folks have gotten them.   Anything you could do to clear this up would be great, JR

[Lizzie]

Thanks @Melodie-And-John0 for mentioning me here. I'm on the case. We've highlighted this a few weeks ago, but I'll see if I can get more of an update. 

Thanks again.

Lizzie

[Robin4]

@Lizzie 

Hi Lizzie, just to add, I have been getting these same verification code texts to my phone for about 6 weeks now. They are the exact same texts as others have described here.

As the phone app is a cut down mirror of the web site, and these messages are/were not going to my Internet web page, I just assumed them to be junk sms, blocked the phone number and have not received a solitary one since! That was about 2 weeks ago. 

Nothing has been affected on either my web page or the phone app by blocking them!

@Cathie19  @Ann72  @Megan780  @Melodie-And-John0 

Cheers.......Rob

[Ann72]

@Robin4  Good on you and welcome back!  As I've found out, and some others have too, the fake texts come from the same number my bank uses to send codes, so I am wary of blocking it.  They've slowed down considerably, though!

[Robin4]

@Ann72 

Hey Ann, it's great to be back....we are a family here on the CC and we need to support each other with the lovely things we experience in life. 

4 months ago I became a grandparent again.......

Here he is,  Sailah Louie Shannon, the first male child in the family for 76 years .....I was the last!

He was just a baby! There was no level of interaction with him...he was just something that you held and made funny noises to!

That was back in November ......This last trip produced the little man in him....he laughs at you, feeds himself and tells the world he is here!

Ann, I am somewhat frustrated by the lack of progress in solving many of our hosting issues. Problems are coming my way weekly.......and none of them are due to any oversights on my part.....they all  creep in via some programming glitch that Airbnb have not researched through any form of 'Cause and Effect' to their programming upgrades! They simply make a change without establishing the consequences of that change, and expect a totally unqualified CX to pick up the pieces!!

Ann,  I have been hopeful that our new host advocate would pull things into line, but after a year at the helm nothing has changed and I am beginning to think that nothing  will change.

I don't want to keep on fighting the system, but I can't see an alternative!

Cheers........Rob