Re:Phone numbers are not proper verification
by ProblemFactory on Monday January 16, 2017 @06:48AM
(#13409470)
Can you even create a working Google account without a phone number? When I last tried that, it seemed to be mandatory from the start.
It never seemed to be a security measure, but an anti-spam measure. You can buy captcha solving as a service for fractions of a cent, and bulk create thousands of accounts for sending spam. Buying working phone numbers is more hassle and more expensive, and will leave a payment trail if you use a service like Twilio.
Re:Phone numbers are not proper verification
by Jordrok on Monday January 16, 2017 @12:31PM
(#13411407)
You can, but it's not obvious that it's an option. I'd be willing to bet that the signup UI was deliberately designed to make it look like a phone number is required.
It never seemed to be a security measure, but an anti-spam measure. You can buy captcha solving as a service for fractions of a cent, and bulk create thousands of accounts for sending spam. Buying working phone numbers is more hassle and more expensive, and will leave a payment trail if you use a service like Twilio.