Where in the World - replace lost number - for SMS verifications only
 

So I need a robust solution for my online banking SMS verifications. Eg. I travel, lose my SIM card and it's impossible to replace when abroad, can't log in to online banking - a nightmare!

Compare European banks with US banks: most European banks harass their customers with all these verifications; they save you for yourself. US banks usally require only a user name/password combo. Bearable if you don't travel but you can't build on it if you travel a lot, live internationally. Your bank usually can't handle an SMS number change if you are abroad.

So is there such a SIM card issued in any country which - when I lose it - they can preferably send me my old number to an international address by mail? Best option. It is also helpful if it is cheap to maintain the number, preferably you don't have to top up regularly, just send an SMS to it from another number to keep it active.

Best option is if I build an online system just for myself, there are similar services where you can send an SMS number to a public service and they show the SMS on an online interface, most notably: http://receive-sms-online.com/

Or I leave the SIM card with a friend or relative and when I do online banking I ask the confirmation code from him. Still not ideal, let's say net is slow, I can barely do online banking, not to mention initiating a Skype conversation abroad, my friend or relative is not always online, time zone differences... it is like shooting to a pigeon with an RPG. Not good solution. Screw banks. :)

Oh, and using a token for online bank logins is not better than SMSes.

What is your recommended solution?

Google Voice

Fongo (Canadian), Line2(Us & Canadian), Fishtext (UK). Some Homg kong prepaids have SMS forwarding capability. Also, you can leave a prepaid SIM from your home country in a prepaid SIM back home in a cheap Android phone and use a million different Android apps to forward it

Good idea, but don't forget:

1. Make sure you leave it plugged in to the charger.
2 You will need to give someone access to it if the number changes while you are away.

Another solution is to call the bank and after they ask you some questions can give you access to your account and probably change the SMS number. I am sure this happens all the time.

Could you give me links to these? Could not find Fongo. Fishtext have a nice site but can't find what I am looking for: they give me a virtual number which can receive texts for example on a computer too? That would be the best solution.

I would prefer to skip this if possible. Way too complicated solution for stupid banks.

Imagine, there are banks that can't handle foreign SMS numbers.

http://www.fongo.com/ or http://www.fongo.ca/

Android app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...ongo.dellvoice
IIRC (because it's been a couple of years since I did it):
1. This app can only be downloaded from a Canadian IP so either fake it or find someone to send you the APK.
2. You'll need a Canadian phone number in order to validate your account.

On iOS, you need a Canadian App Store account to get it as well which requires a Canadian iTunes recharge card in addition to the things outlined above.

Let's take all the options so far. What I need is preferably not (only) a smartphone app but to be able to receive an SMS on whatever (virtual number) on a secured web office. Heck, the web is just much more flexible than a proprietary smartphone app.

What we have so far:

Google Voice - I don't know much how it works since it is a service aimed to the US but will it be good for my purposes? To give me a number where I can receive SMS and that's it. Not any forwarding needed. Free, I assume.

Fongo - What I see on their web page is I can use a desktop app as well, not sure if I can manage SMS from the web. That would be more simple. I couldn't figure out their pricing for what I need.

Fishtext - GBP 15 a year. Hopefully I find a better deal. I assume this is not the best price/quality for this kind of service.

Line2 -iOS only app. Not for me.

Some Homg kong prepaids have SMS forwarding capability - That would be interesting to learn about. And how did you though I should use this. Forward what to where? Maybe I don't get it.

Thank for your insights.

Dear international,

Please allow me to present myself. I am Florence Omobo, a renowned expert in international finance.

From your initial post, I understand that you require assistance to perform security checks with your bank while you are travelling outside Northern Cyprus. Yes, this has become a very common problem recently, but it is a problem which I can easily help you to solve.

For a modest annual fee, which is much less than the 15 pound fishtext fee previously mentioned, I can assist you with your international banking transactions. If you are interested, send me a PM, so that I can give you my postal address to which you should forward your SIM card and bank details.

Best regards,

Florence Omobo

Better get you bank card out on the double:-D or not.

: D : D : D

Bump. So would you be kind enough to clarify for me that either

- Google Voice will do what I want? (Though I am not a big fan of Google services, I like better specialist small companies but if that is the only one for the price - FREE - fine)

- Or more about the other options? I have no idea about what you said about the Hong Kong forwarding deal for example

FYI. Line2 is Android as well. You can also access the SMS messages over the web. I don't think it is what you want reading the messages, but felt that I should correct it for the benefit of other readers.

I found a free service called Pinger. It gives you a Us number to send and receive texts. You have to send a text every month though, not to lose your number.

Someone - presumably in another thread, I can't find it now - recommended me a service:

- It was a mobile only app
- Offered free SMS-receiving numbers in a handful of countries (maybe around 5), if I remember correctly, such countries like the US/UK Canada and Germany
- It was not Pinger, definitely

Anyone may remember it and bring it again to my attention?

I much appreciate you!

This is a dumb question, but what about simply getting an unactivated SIM card from your carrier and stashing it in your suitcase or some place else. If you lose your mobile, call your carrier, verify your identity, and activating the new card.

Also VOIP.MS and Anveo are VOIP providers who now offer SMS compatible DIDs.

I am still looking for - THIS one! Have you find it?

Or, is it possible it was Fongo previously offered US/UK, German numbers as well, not only Canadian ones? And Fongo is the one I am looking for.

I don't know which country you are referring to; but this is simply not how most places operate, I guess.

Thanks; I check these!

Could the application have been Upptalk, formerly called Yuilop?

It can have a number from perhaps most of the countries you mentioned.

I tried some other similar ones, such as Pinger or TextMe, but the UK numbers they allocated were not reachable from a couple of main UK networks

Yes; it was Upptalk! The main question: is it a good provider?

Meanwhile, I tried to register with Fongo, I even got the verification email, but when I clicked on it, then it said 'bad link'!? Is it that bad? The site https://www.freephoneline.ca/accountRegistrationStepOne is pretty ugly as well.

OK, I forgot to mention, from my experience, Pinger sucks, big time.

Here I add 2 other providers I come across: http://www.textplus.com/ (nicer website)

https://vir2sim.com/ (average site)

Any feedback is appreciated.

OFF:

Seriously; website niceness is an issue - for me. In the age where all new (social media app/startup) sites just look gorgeous, responsive, etc., quite a few of the online telephony websites just look so bad, they seem like they are from 15 years ago.

I wonder if it is really so bad to be in the online telephony business/be a telephony startup? I guess, maybe, as prices race to the bottom in this field.

Think K7.net, which is a 'classic' site, but hey, it does what it does; it works. Any newer alternative for that? That is, simple voicemail. There was (WAS) also jConnect offering a free voicemail number; ugly site, and no more. ;)

I mean, there is Google Voice (after so many years, still in the USA only); any worthwhile competitors?

To add a new dimension to the online SMS question, and why I simple do not want to carry verification SIM or SIMs. I kind of agree with Apple on this: SIM cards just getting old (think of the iPad Air 2). It wold be satisfying to be able to find a 100% online solution, which just works. OK: Google Voice, but still.

I doubt it. Fongo is a Canadian company that offers Canadian phone numbers to Canadians only. When I set up my Fongo account several years ago I had to confirm the registration using another Canadian phone number. This is a solution that works well but only for Canadians (and those who can masquerade as Canadians ;))

This may sound odd, but I don't really know.

I've had an account for some time, accruing credit by running some adverts or other offers, or previously for receiving incoming calls to the number (this method no longer earns credit) but I have hardly made any outgoing calls.

I ought to try using it more, as there are plenty of minutes there now, and they also seem to offer 10 free minutes per week.

Textplus, I just installed its update to Nextplus, but haven't used it yet.

I also installed TextMe, for which I'd make roughly the same comments as UppTalk, it's there but hardly used. It kept changing the incoming number though, and receiving texts sent presumably by friends of previous holders of those numbers. I hope it would keep the same number if actually used much, but test this before you trust it. Also as I mentioned before its number range wasn't reachable from some UK networks, so I didn't test it much.

You can probably find several similar applications in the store for your phone type, and try them out one or two at a time.

Also take a look at Fishtext. Sending messages cost mostly about 1.5 or 2 UK pence each, and for sending ID you can either have it simulate your SIM phone number, so you'd receive replies via that, or get them to allocate their own dedicated non SIM number, so you can get replies online or in its application. But I wonder if this number range might have compatibility issues from some other countries - I don't know.

They issue extra long numbers which aren't fully compatible with all systems. They could cause problems.

Thank you for the updates, Andy!

FreedomPop Expands to Europe w/ Launch of UK’s first FREE Mobile Service

What to expect from this? If I were after a real phone number for this purpose (as you previously suggested I should be), this one would be it.

I forgot to say earlier that this one issues a phone number that is allocated to Three, so would presumably not be affected by the network compatibility issues that may affect some of the other number series.

It allocated a number at the start, and recently removed it after lack of use. A couple of days ago the application suggested press here to get a phone number. The new number is also apparently a Three UK allocation.

Both numbers have received probable (unanswered) junk marketing phone calls, so they do work

As for FreedomPop mentioned in the post above, it's still "coming to the UK this summer".

Hello! Happy new year! I am a new member of this community.

The previously recommended UppTalk stopped offering non-US (UK, German, Spanish) numbers. Do I have any other options for a non-US number?

I mean, in this day and age if I want to open a bank account, there is a question if I have any connection to the US, including phone numbers. It would be funny if I were to use the US virtual SMS number for as a 2FA for online banking.

Hey John8xhg!

Okay, any any other, reliable virtual number options besides Google Voice and Upptalk, it it can be a US number as well? worst case, I'll say to the bank it's a Canadian number.

Google more and more relies on 2FS, SMs authentication, trying to find me who I am not by my password but location, device, not particularly good for adventuring purposes. If I need SMS for the Google login, it's a tie between needing the SMS for the online bank login.

Upptalk requires a smartphone, no web interface which is... not 100% the most flexible solution.

If it's a lucrative market, I guess, other participants should be available. Well, I guess, it isn't quite a lucrative market.