two factor authentication

[Temp20220615]

i have a phone number set on my profile page.

i set 2 factor to use an authenticator app.

when i log in - i am able to use the authenticator app to supply the security code.

but then paypal asks me to provide a phone number to receive a security code to log in  why won't it use the phone number on my profile to send me a security code

anyone can put in any phone number to receive a code and then log in as me... the first time this happend i thought i was sent to a phishing site and didn't provide any information

but then i found that providing a phone number is the only way to log in to paypal.

what am i doing wrong?

[PayPal_Marina]

Hi @Temp20220615,

Thank you for posting your question in the Community. I can understand how that would cause some concern. Based on what you've described, it sounds like you're being asked to complete an additional security challenge to log in. To help prevent unauthorized access, our internal security system reviews every action for patterns or unusual activity. For that reason, we typically recommend logging in from a secure internet network using a familiar device and avoiding VPNs or public Wi-Fi.

Phone numbers aren't always compatible with our system, and you may run into issues if you're using a prepaid phone or VoIP service. If the phone number on your account isn't visible when you're prompted to complete the challenge, that usually means we're unable to send a code via SMS to that number. You'd be asked to add a different one to complete the verification, but please keep in mind that the name and address associated with your PayPal account must match what appears on your phone billing statement in order for our system to send the text. This prevents any random number from being added to the account. If you continue encountering issues receiving a text to your phone, it would be best to contact our Customer Support team directly.
 

I hope you find this information useful!

- Marina