Tips for protecting your mobile
accounts and identity
If you have been the target of fraud, or your mobile account has been compromised, please follow the steps below to protect your account from future fraud. Even if your mobile account has not been targeted, the recommendations below are helpful for securing your mobile and other accounts.
Keeping your mobile accounts and devices safe.
- Change the password to your online mobile phone account.
- Protect your email account with a password you don't reuse elsewhere.
- Change your account PIN.
- Change your secret question and answer.
- Confirm your account details are correct (name, address, contact email, any approved users on your account).
- Check your account settings for Voice Call forwarding to ensure it is not enabled without your approval.
- Pay attention to any charges, changes, notifications, or text alerts about your account and engage us quickly with any concerns.
- Add a passcode or biometric lock to your mobile device to prevent unauthorized use.
- Don’t download apps that aren’t trusted - research any that aren’t well known.
- Keep your mobile operating systems up to date.
- Run antivirus software on your mobile devices.
Read article on How to secure your My Verizon Account and Device
Read article on fighting password fatigue: how to secure your digital life
How to keep your email safe from hackers?
- Change your password and security questions.
- Check your account settings for mail forwarding to ensure it is not enabled without your approval.
- If your email provider offers it, leverage enhanced security settings.
- Maintain good email hygiene, deleting unnecessary emails from organizations you wouldn’t want an unauthorized user to know you have accounts with.
Keeping your other accounts secured.
- Any account that uses a text or call to your cellphone to authenticate you is potentially at risk. Change your passwords on all those accounts.
- Explore options for physical security tokens or other protections for financial and other high-value accounts.
Additional account security tips
- Never use the same password on different accounts or websites. This is particularly true for passwords on sensitive accounts such as banks, email, and your mobile service.
- Always use a strong password - at least 8 characters, with letters, numbers, capitals and special characters, and consider changing them every six months.
- Consider using unique usernames across all your accounts.
- Opt into enhanced security wherever possible. This can be found on the security settings pages of your various accounts.
- Never give out passwords or personal information to an unsolicited caller, or in response to an email or text message, even if it sounds or looks legitimate. Call them back or visit their main website to be sure you’re really talking to who you expect.
- Don’t click on unexpected or unknown links sent to you in text from an unknown source.
This page contains tips and best practices to help customers keep their Verizon and other online accounts secure. This is not meant to be a full and exhaustive list, and you should always exercise caution in all aspects of the security around your accounts, and your online activity.
Read article on what you need to know about multi-factor authentication
