RECOMMENDATIONS time to leave GV & Port Out

hawk#1

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I do not like being forced to use SMS for security. I also have a personal grudge against those businesses that force you to buy a number from a couple of mobile carriers,

I never had a problem when I signed up a few months back, and I don't even remember having to provide a mobile carrier or use SMS for security. I hate giving out my cell number so when required, I use one of my old GV numbers for that purpose. Since I don't even have a phone hooked up to that number, I don't get any unwanted calls and it cuts down on the unwanted calls to my cell phone.
 

yeoldroundabout

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Not suggesting this applies to you, but telecom fraud is a huge problem. Skyetel does what they believe is prudent to assure they don't get burned. Have you tried calling their support folks? They can be very helpful sometimes.
Well that is what I understand to be the issue for their industry. As they have a lot of calling fraud and I understand they need a way to differentiate people, but you also got to look at it from a single person with very small needs. They are essentially saying "Purchase cellular service from one of our listed companies or we do not do business with you", and that has nothing to do with security. It has to do with the fact that the security company owns part of the SMS company and/or they have a legal contract with the company.
I've run into this before with Bria. They would not accept a T-mobile number as a mobile number and required me to send birth certificate, drivers license, utility records... I am not joking either! I felt violated by their request and shocked that with all their intelligent security people they couldn't come up with a better solution other than to request enough info from someone to basically steal their identity.
Basically, I refuse to do business with companies that get locked into the SMS security racket, because it is a racket.
I can do business with other companies and none of them require the level of identification that they do, so I have serious doubts about their own internal ability to keep my information safe, let alone their own.
But thank you for the advice, I will try to contact them through the regular voice channels. I may even consider grabbing a pay-go number just to make them happy, I am sure that net10 might be one of the companies on their security kick back list.
 

kenn10

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Basically, I refuse to do business with companies that get locked into the SMS security racket, because it is a racket.
I can do business with other companies and none of them require the level of identification that they do, so I have serious doubts about their own internal ability to keep my information safe, let alone their own.
But thank you for the advice, I will try to contact them through the regular voice channels. I may even consider grabbing a pay-go number just to make them happy, I am sure that net10 might be one of the companies on their security kick back list.

There are many other options for a VOIP provider, many of whom do not require SMS verification. I am annoyed that many do not support incoming short code SMS messages or international SMS messages. That is the reason I maintain a Vitelity number both for 911 and for incoming SMS messages from my bank, Amazon, .etc., which do not originate from an actual phone number. Vitelity allows me to forward the SMS message to my cell phone or an email address so I don't have to reveal my actual cell number.

There are doubtless hundreds of SIP trunking providers so I'm sure, with appropriate research and due dilligence, you'll find one which meets your requirements. The points you made about SkyeTel not accepting some cell numbers is good to know but not terribly concerning to most.
 

Skyetel

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For what its worth - we don't like the SMS verification either; but Ward is right about fraud. It is just too significant and risky for us and we have to do things that suck to keep that kind of traffic away.

Also - we don't actually check what carrier you are using, just that NPAC shows that it is a mobile number. Google Voice, Vitelity, Our own numbers, etc all show up as VOIP numbers (even though they can receive SMS). A true mobile number is only issued by true cell phone providers and we use this method because you have to provide personally identifying information to those providers in order to get a number in the first place.

Lastly - the Short Code thing is also a fraud prevention. Long story short - hackers and fraudsters use networks like ours to bypass security from groups like banks and credit card when they use our network to receive short codes. In our world, the general security recommendation is to avoid delivering short codes. They are also much more expensive to route. ~2-4 cents to receive is about the industry average unless you have enormous enormous short code volumes... which we don't :(
 

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