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Email Comments, Questions and Miscellaneous Share your opinion of the email service you're using. Post general email questions and discussions that don't fit elsewhere. |
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26 Jul 2013, 08:01 AM | #1 |
Essential Contributor
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: NYC
Posts: 479
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WTF with Hotmail DEMANDING other contact?
I have tons and tons on Hotmail accounts, not because I love them, but because they seem to be the most convenient for free dedicated accounts. They went through a period of demanding phone numbers, but stopped.
Then, just now, I got an intervening screen on one of the Hotmail accounts warning that in seven days, the extra information will be required! Are you all seeing this too? It will be such an incredible pain to have to scramble to create new accounts! |
26 Jul 2013, 09:28 AM | #2 | |
Cornerstone of the Community
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: PA
Posts: 683
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Quote:
I just logged into my hotmail/outlook account on Thursday, July 25th at 8:21 pm EST and do NOT see anything like you have described as of yet........... David |
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26 Jul 2013, 01:58 PM | #3 |
The "e" in e-mail
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 2,281
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I have a couple of Outlook.com accounts and have not seen what you describe.
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26 Jul 2013, 09:48 PM | #4 |
Cornerstone of the Community
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Philippines
Posts: 843
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What extra information. What do you mean by other contact?
I have four accounts, I normally use POP3 on them, I just logged in to each of them and went straight to my Inbox as usual. All of my accounts do have an "Alternate email address" assigned. Is that what you mean by other contact? |
26 Jul 2013, 10:32 PM | #5 |
The "e" in e-mail
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 2,626
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IIRC I only have one active account now at live.com
but that is hotmail too. And I got curious reading about your exerience so I sign in through the live.com and they was slow but did not ask anything. Maybe it happens if one send a lot of emails so they see that as more important to know who that is then if one like me whom never send anything I only use yahoo for that just now. so tell us more specific under which circumstance they ask How often do you send emails from it? is it some commercial part of a biz you sell things maybe such is part of them more interested in you personally? |
27 Jul 2013, 07:39 AM | #6 |
Essential Contributor
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: NYC
Posts: 479
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Hm. Curiously, although I have bunches of Hotmail accounts, that's the only one where I got the warning - and it didn't pop up again when I logged in to it today. I wonder if it was a glitch?
I wish I would have thought to copy and paste the warning into an email draft to read more carefully when I had more time. I'll await another warning. |
27 Jul 2013, 02:55 PM | #7 |
The "e" in e-mail
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 2,281
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Could it have been a phishing attempt?
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28 Jul 2013, 05:00 AM | #8 |
Essential Contributor
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: NYC
Posts: 479
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Thanks for the thought, William, but no. It wasn't an e-mail - it was an intervening preliminary screen before getting to the in-box. I've had them before, trying to collect more information, but this was the first time I'd had them try to bully me with a deadline.
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28 Jul 2013, 05:18 AM | #9 |
Master of the @
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: USA
Posts: 1,868
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Just do the easiest thing and enter bogus info!
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28 Jul 2013, 03:22 PM | #10 | ||
Cornerstone of the Community
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Philippines
Posts: 843
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Good until it's needed. For example, you go to "Account settings" then try to access your "Security info". You will be prompted with a screen that has the following:
Quote:
Quote:
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30 Jul 2013, 03:48 AM | #11 |
The "e" in e-mail
Join Date: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,186
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I just signed into Outlook.com and got the prompt "Call us over protective, but we want to make sure you can recover your account" and then was asked where to send a code. I had to enter that code to proceed.
I was allowed to defer the code retrieval for up to seven days, skip it for now and know it was coming the next time I logged in, but eventually I would have to verify. They asked for an alternative mail address and they wanted to verify it as part of a spot check on login. This seems to be the stopper that webecedarian was speaking about, and I got it even though I have a registered backup address. I'm sure that Hotmail would have taken my cell phone for the code issuance too, but even on accounts created last week they still allow alternative e-mail/question, and that's what worked for me, |
5 Aug 2013, 04:47 AM | #12 |
Essential Contributor
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: NYC
Posts: 479
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Thanks, Kapitsky - yes, that's exactly what I was getting. I had copied it and posted the copy somewhere for storage, but then it disappeared. You couldn't give bogus information, because they were going to use that for confirmation.
And, here's the update - it's "finis" for that email. I then got: Help us protect your account Passwords can be forgotten or stolen. Just in case, add security info now to help you get back into your account if something goes wrong. We won't use this info to spam you - just to keep your account more secure. Learn more. What security info would you like to add? (XXX) XXX-XXXX Verify phone via: Text Call [choices] Skip (This is the last time you can skip) I sent them a blisteringly angry feedback note about their hypocrisy, and then they sent a link to this: https:/ /support.microsoft.com/oas/default.aspx?&iid=6&iguid=1ef69f31-b391-444e-8a0e-d2a20e230b26_1_2&x=13&y=16&c=SMC&ln=en-us&st=1&wfxredirect=1&sd=gn Here's the curious part. I have over a dozen Hotmail accounts, that are sort of a bunch of default dedicated accounts. That threat only showed up on that particular one (so far). Luckily it was a very unimportant one, so I didn't mind letting it go as a test. But the curious part is: Why that one? It's not the oldest. Nor the newest. Nor the most used. Nor the least used. No idea why that one was targeted. Really annoyed though, and somewhat perturbed. |
5 Aug 2013, 06:21 AM | #13 |
The "e" in e-mail
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Manchester UK
Posts: 2,616
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Can't see if you've said anywhere that you had a back-up e-mail address already registered for the Hotmail account in question?
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5 Aug 2013, 11:09 AM | #14 |
The "e" in e-mail
Join Date: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,186
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When I create a new Hotmail account, they ask me for a mobile number and an alternate e-mail address. They also give me the option to create a security question, but I do have to trigger that option with a click.
If I do create the security question, I am not required to enter a mobile number. If I do not create the security question then I must enter a mobile number to create the account. I find the combination of recovery e-mail address and security question to be a reasonable ask in these days, so I am fine with it. Don't really want to give out a mobile number. But I guess I could give a Google Voice number if I had to; it supports incoming SMS (but not really MMS) |
5 Aug 2013, 05:35 PM | #15 |
Cornerstone of the Community
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Philippines
Posts: 843
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Same experience here. I also don't like giving out a mobile number. I am fine with the alternate email and the occasional asking for the security code. So far with four accounts it's been once except for when I access "Security info" on the "Account settings" page.
The account the asked me, actually had an old alternate email address. So I was not getting the security code. I had to select "I don't have these anymore". I was able to change my alternate email, I was also offered mobile number. I know have to wait 30 days before I can access my "Security info" How do I replace all my security info? - Microsoft Windows Help |
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