Change Your Voicemail Password

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The bad guys have found a way to exploit people who have not changed their default cell phone password.

  1. Verify the default password works with your voicemail.
  2. Wait for your phone to be turned off (late at night, while you are on a plane, etc.)
  3. Use “call me with a one time password” for password reset on your bank account (or other website).
  4. The one time password goes to voicemail.
  5. They get the one time password from voicemail.
  6. Your bank account belongs to them.

Lesson… never use the default password for something exposed to the public.

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6 thoughts on “Change Your Voicemail Password”

  1. US banks deliver the password reset message by VOICEMAIL????

    Every bank in Oz sends it via SMS.

    Not impossible to intercept, but I suspect at least an order of magnitude harder.

  2. I would have thought that by now everyone was aware of the dangers of default anything, from passwords to garage door opener codes to the set of keys to your house that were provided by the builder or owner, etc.

    Apparently not.

    And that so many use the same password across multiple accounts is simply mind boggling.

    • As re Miguel and Joe below … You can certainly be aware of the need to change defaults, while being unaware that there is a default that needs to be changed.

  3. OR.
    don’t use a banking app on your phone. Don’t tie your cell phone number to your bank account. Use one of those burner programs. Hush works great for me.

  4. Today is the day I found out voicemails have passwords.
    Changed, thanks!

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