Pages in topic:   < [1 2]
Being Wise about security
Thread poster: Philip Lees
Philip Lees
Philip Lees  Identity Verified
Greece
Local time: 19:28
Greek to English
TOPIC STARTER
Update Nov 3

Thomas T. Frost wrote:

Government and bank authentication systems increasingly require a smartphone, sometimes with an NFC reader (e.g. Denmark and the UK), to let you into their digital systems, so life without a smartphone is becoming increasingly difficult, whether we like it or not.

Well, I will not be bullied into buying an expensive piece of equipment that I don't want and have no other use for.

Two-factor authentication with an SMS code works on dumb phones but is not nearly as secure as app-based authentication. It has been hacked in various ways. I would expect that old authentication method to be phased out slowly.

I expect it's only matter of time until somebody hacks the apps. If they haven't done so already.

About your email support experience, support agents are often under pressure to solve a certain number of tickets per hour, so they don't read and understand users' emails properly and then copy and paste some boilerplate text. Some email support systems now use AI to generate a suggested answer, but the support agent should still check it.

I finally received an answer that reads as if it was written by a human being and is actually quite helpful. I now realise I had misunderstood the instructions on their website - which I attribute to their being poorly written, rather than any deficiency in reading comprehension on my part.

So I'll try again when I have time.

Hot on the heels of this human response came another computer-generated email asking how satisfied I was with their support.

Sigh!


I find their advice to either use somebody else's computer/phone or to do the verification in a public place quite alarming enough.

If you install the app, login, complete the authentication, close the app and uninstall it yourself, I don't see any problem. Danish authorities suggested a similar method for users having to enrol in the new public authentication system.

One of the most basic pieces of security advice these organisations offer is that, whatever authentication system you use, don't do it when somebody else is looking over your shoulder.

I do not see how that is compatible with verifying your ID in a public library, with or without the assistance of the librarian.

[Edited to delete superfluous comma]

[Edited at 2024-11-03 06:31 GMT]


 
Thomas T. Frost
Thomas T. Frost  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 17:28
Danish to English
+ ...
Logic Nov 4

Philip Lees wrote:

One of the most basic pieces of security advice these organisations offer is that, whatever authentication system you use, don't do it when somebody else is looking over your shoulder.

I do not see how that is compatible with verifying your ID in a public library, with or without the assistance of the librarian.


By the same logic, you could never use an ATM because somebody would always be looking over your shoulder, since it's in public.

I can only presume you would be smart enough not to show your Wise credentials to any person helping. Maybe you can explain where the risk is in that case, once the app has been deleted. I also presume Wise would not have suggested this option if it was a security risk.

But it seems all you needed was to ask for clarification, a course of action thankfully within the grasp of a translator, so all is calm and all is bright, and then we can all be zen.

Much ado about nothing.


 
Ana Vozone
Ana Vozone  Identity Verified
Local time: 17:28
Member (2010)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Thank you! Nov 4

Thank you for your info!

Thomas T. Frost wrote:

Ana Vozone wrote:

when I tried to register with Wise, due precisely to the official ID requirement.

I simply gave up and will have to continue with Paypal, being charged nearly 10% for abusive exchange rates and fees. Contacting them is virtually impossible...


The ID verification is something EU money-laundering regulations oblige them to do. They have no choice. Nor does PayPal. Any bank would do it too. They just do it at different times, and there are many accounts of PayPal blocking accounts while they verify the ID. Nobody will let you do anonymous banking (which it is if your ID is not verified).

The email contact form has indeed been hidden away. They have some mess in the help navigation. I managed to find the one below about ID validation. I will bookmark the link for future use.

https://wise.com/help/contact/channels/email?issue=general-verification&topic=general&supportLanguage=en&flowType=general&flowId=getting-verified&optionId=i-need-to-upload-documents&contactReason=verification


 
Philip Lees
Philip Lees  Identity Verified
Greece
Local time: 19:28
Greek to English
TOPIC STARTER
Final update Nov 9

Thomas T. Frost wrote:

By the same logic, you could never use an ATM because somebody would always be looking over your shoulder, since it's in public.

I am large. If I'm standing in front of an ATM, nobody is looking over my shoulder.

In any case, I always obscure the keypad while I enter my PIN.

I can only presume you would be smart enough not to show your Wise credentials to any person helping. Maybe you can explain where the risk is in that case, once the app has been deleted.

A public library, where you sit down at a computer screen under (probably) the surveillance of CCTV, is an entirely different situation from an ATM.

I also presume Wise would not have suggested this option if it was a security risk.

Dream on, Thomas.

But it seems all you needed was to ask for clarification, a course of action thankfully within the grasp of a translator, so all is calm and all is bright, and then we can all be zen.

Much ado about nothing.

Eventually, they told me all I needed to do was take a photo of my face next to my passport ID page and upload it to their site. No messing about with smartphones or webcams, or whatever.

So I did that, and within 24 hours I received a "confirmation" message from Wise.

We've confirmed a personal document you sent us.

Thanks for providing the information we requested.
Great! I thought.

But when I went to the site and tried to make a transfer, they started the whole bl**dy procedure all over again.

I'm not wasting any more time on them. I have now closed my Wise account.


 
Pages in topic:   < [1 2]


To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator:


You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request »

Being Wise about security







Protemos translation business management system
Create your account in minutes, and start working! 3-month trial for agencies, and free for freelancers!

The system lets you keep client/vendor database, with contacts and rates, manage projects and assign jobs to vendors, issue invoices, track payments, store and manage project files, generate business reports on turnover profit per client/manager etc.

More info »
Trados Business Manager Lite
Create customer quotes and invoices from within Trados Studio

Trados Business Manager Lite helps to simplify and speed up some of the daily tasks, such as invoicing and reporting, associated with running your freelance translation business.

More info »