I received an email about half an hour ago, written in German, saying that I had set up two-factor authentication on my Apple ID. The problem is, I didn't set it up myself. Now, when I try to log in, I can't access my account because of this unexpected 2FA requirement. I attempted the recovery process, but it seems someone linked my account to a phone number that isn't mine. The only information I have is my email address and password; unfortunately, I can't remember my date of birth since I prefer not to use my real one for security. Can anyone suggest a way to solve this issue? Thanks for any help!
4 Answers
Are you sure the email is from Apple and not just a phishing attempt? Make sure to verify everything before doing anything that could jeopardize your account further.
Before you do anything, make sure that email is legit. Scammers are getting really crafty with imitation emails. Don’t click any links in the email; instead, go directly to appleid.apple.com by typing it in your browser address bar.
It seems like you really should have had 2FA set up in advance. Try changing your password to see if that helps. Not using your real date of birth is another hurdle in recovering your account, though.
You might have a two-week grace period to roll back the two-factor authentication, but typically, it's a good security measure to have on your account. Next time, make sure to add at least two trusted numbers. If you're super security-conscious, consider setting a recovery key.
I can't roll back 2FA since I can't access my account due to it being tied to a phone number that I don’t have.