Why a List of Passwords No Longer Opens Your Accounts

Margaret is recovering in the hospital and needs her bills paid while she is there. Her son is authorized to pay them and has every password she has written down.

The accounts are, however, asking him for a code he does not have.

The code goes to the phone at the hospital with Margaret. She is well enough to answer when her son calls, so she reads him the code from the phone and the bills are paid.

Margaret realizes that if she had not been able to open her phone and read the code to her son, the bills would not have been paid.

What she needs is a record that covers her passwords and everything the accounts ask for after them.

There are four things to set up and record for each account.

1.    Turn on Two-Factor Authentication and note how the code reaches you

Open the account’s security settings and look for Two-Factor Authentication. Sites also call it two-step verification or 2FA, and it is the strongest protection most accounts offer.

Most accounts let you choose how the code arrives, either by text message or through an app on your phone. Note which one you choose so you can plan to ensure it's accessible.

2.    Print the backup codes, even if you turned it on years ago

When Two-Factor Authentication is turned on, the account typically offers a set of one-time backup codes. Each one works independently of the phone.

If the account is already set up, those codes are still available. Go back into the same security settings, generate a new set, and print them.

Keep the printed page somewhere secure and away from the phone, so a lost phone does not take the codes with it.

3.    Write down the passcode that sits under the face scan

A phone that opens with a face or a fingerprint still has a passcode underneath it. The phone asks for that passcode after a restart, and it works whenever the face does not.

Write it down and keep it with the account information. It is the piece almost nobody records, and it is what makes the codes reachable.

4.    Tell the person who would step in where the record is kept

Show that person where the record lives and how to get to it, and make sure one other trusted person knows as well.

Margaret starts with one account

When Margaret leaves the hospital, she comes home and works through the four steps starting on a single account. By the time she moves to the next one, she knows what she is looking for.

Margaret lets her son know where to find the passwords, passcode, and backup codes. She now has peace of mind that if something happens to her, her son will be able to help.

How Next Path Financial can help

Every account asks for something a little different, and knowing what to ask is most of the work. Next Path Financial goes through them with you in person, across Edmonton and surrounding communities. When you are ready to start, write to info@nextpathfinancial.ca.