Clarification on privacy issues related to Google’s setting that enables Auto-verification of phone numbers.

This article seeks to address isolated incidents, where customers of Mister Mobile are concerned about possible breaches of the personal data in their mobile phones. As protecting our customers’ data is high up on our priority, Mister Mobile will explain in detail the situation which caused this misunderstanding and hope this article will allay the concerns of said customers who have unfortunately encountered this incident.

Before we begin, Mister Mobile assures all customers that we do not and will not access customers’ private data when we are carrying out phone repairs. We categorically state that no private data has been compromised throughout the process.

Let’s bust some myths:

• Possible data breach 1: “Sales are asking for phone pin passwords. They are trying to access my data.”
  Explanation:  Our sales team is trained to ask for the phone pin password so that we can go through a complete checking procedure before we move on to repairing. This is so that we can recommend the correct repairs needed and inform the customer beforehand. All employees are trained to respect the privacy of our customers, and they are bounded by strict data protection rules that Mister Mobile has put in place, in line with the PDPA Act.
• Possible data breach 2: “An unknown number has been verified to my Google account! They are trying to breach my data and scam me!”
  Explanation: As part of our SOP, before and after repairs are done, our team is required to make a test call on the phone to ensure that the call function of the phone is working fine. The cause of this “unknown number verification” is due to the user’s Google account setting which enables auto-verification of phone numbers, whose SIM card had been used to make outgoing calls on the phone.Read ahead to see how we replicate the issue.

How to replicate the issue

Take a short moment to take a look at the video below:

 

Step-by-step to replicate the error

Step 1: As you can see, we started off with a Google account with only one verified phone number.

Step 2: Next we inserted a new SIM card in to the device and restart the device.

Step 3: Once the phone is restarted, we went back to the Google account settings and saw that there’s still only one verified phone number.

Step 4: Next, we will make an outgoing phone call to another device – as per our repair protocol to check and test the speaker is working fine.

As you can see, the SIM card we added to the Samsung phone is “9889 9870”. Again as per our repair protocol, we will accept the call and try to talk across the repaired device to ensure the phone is working normally.

Step 5: After hanging up, we will once again go to the Setting > Google > Manage your Google Account, scroll to Personal Info tab and you will find the new phone number has been added AUTOMATICALLY to the Google Account.

The main cause of this issue is due to Google’s own Auto-verification function!

We apologise for any inconvenience caused!

At Mister Mobile, we are very strict when it comes to handling customer’s phone.

We hope with this explanation, customers will have a better understanding regarding the issue – that it is not our intention to add our phone number to your account, but Google’s own functionality made it such a way.

Customers can STOP such method of verification by visiting the Google Account page, and follow the following steps:

1. Go to https://myaccount.google.com/phone
2. In the account page, click the arrow beside “Manage auto-verification status”
   
3. Once the section opens, turn off the toggle for each of your devices.
   

This will turn off the function, however, auto-verification will be disabled. Just revert the steps above to turn on the auto-verification.

Mister Mobile Privacy Policy

• It is necessary to provide your password or unlock your device, strictly for function-test purposes only. We will NOT access any of your apps that contain sensitive or private information such as messages, WhatsApp, Contact book, Photo Gallery, video. We will access apps such as the dialer, camera, and settings. We may also insert our SIM card to test the calling function of the device.
• Any employee found to breach such protocol is considered to have contravened with the PDPA act and will be dealt with severely.
• If you are uncomfortable with providing your password, please inform our team before the repair.
• While we do not compel our customers to divulge their passcodes, incomplete function-testing may result in consequences such as delayed repair time, and a limited warranty for the replaced part only.
• We promise that all contact information provided to us will not be shared with any unauthorized entities.
• We promise that all contact information will be safeguarded and restricted to authorized personnel only, in accordance with the PDPA act.
• Collection of data via NRIC is required for phone trade-in under the Secondhand Dealers Good Act by the Singapore Police Force.
• Personal information that we collect: contact information (name, phone number, email address that was provided to us by you)
• How we use your personal information: to contact you for after-sales service, to send you marketing emails (which you can un-subscribe to)

 

Once again, Mister Mobile is sorry for any inconvenience and misunderstanding caused. We will continue to use this article as an explanation when required.