Phone verification and OTP troubleshooting

Some flows on NearbySpy use a one-time password (OTP) sent by SMS to a phone number you control. The most common are verifying a phone number on an Investigator profile during onboarding, and verifying ownership when claiming an imported listing. This article walks through what to expect and how to fix the common failures.

When you will see an OTP request

• Adding or changing a phone number on your Investigator profile.
• Claiming an imported listing. See OTP and verification documents for claims.
• Certain account-security checks if we detect unusual sign-in activity.

How an OTP request works

1. You enter the phone number you want verified.
2. We send a short numeric code to that number by SMS.
3. You enter the code into the form within the time window shown on screen.
4. If the code matches, the phone number is marked verified on your account.

The code never arrived

Try these steps in order:

1. Wait a full 60 seconds. SMS delivery is sometimes slow, especially on mobile carriers outside the US.
2. Confirm the phone number you entered. A typo in the country code or area code is the most common cause.
3. Make sure your phone has signal and SMS is not silenced. Check your phone's blocked-numbers list; short-code senders are sometimes blocked by default.
4. Request a new code. The newest code is the only valid code; older codes stop working immediately.
5. If you switched SIMs or are using a Wi-Fi calling profile, your carrier may delay short-code delivery. Try a different number you control.

The code expired

Codes are valid for a short window, usually a few minutes, to limit replay attacks. If yours expired, request a new one. Do not enter an old code; it will fail and may count toward your attempt limit.

"Too many attempts" error

If you enter the wrong code several times in a row, we temporarily block further attempts on that phone number to slow down brute-force guessing. Wait the period shown on screen, then request a new code. If you need to recover faster, contact support with the phone number and roughly when you tried.

Phone numbers that do not accept short-code SMS

Some VoIP numbers (Google Voice and certain virtual numbers) do not reliably receive SMS from short codes. If your number falls into this category, use a personal mobile number for the OTP step. You can change the displayed contact number on your profile separately later.

Privacy of your phone number

A phone number you verify is stored on your account. Whether it is shown publicly depends on the field. For example, your Investigator profile's contact phone is public, while the number used during a sensitive verification step is not. See Privacy basics for Cases and Evidence.

Related articles

• OTP and verification documents for claims
• How to sign up and sign in