Fake verification code scams
Never read back a code that was texted to your phone. There is no legitimate reason for another member to ask for one, ever.
How it works
A buyer says they have been scammed before and want to check you are a real person. They will send you a code and ask you to confirm it. What is actually happening is that they are setting something up in your name, usually a phone number on a service that verifies by text, and your code is the last thing they need. The number then gets used to run scams on other people, and it traces back to you.
The same trick is used to take over accounts. A code arriving from your bank, your email provider or a marketplace means someone is trying to get in right now. Reading it out hands them the door.
The rule
A code that arrives on your phone is for you to type into the service that sent it, on a page you opened yourself. It is never for another person, never for a "verification service", and never for someone claiming to be support.
Jinu's own wording, which appears in the app when a message trips this pattern: never share a verification code, and Jinu will never ask you to send a code to another user. Messages asking for a code are among the small number Jinu refuses to deliver at all.
About verification on Jinu
Phone verification on Jinu is something a seller starts themselves, from their own account, and the code goes to their own phone. Nobody else asks you to verify, and no buyer or seller can verify you. If someone says Jinu requires you to verify through them, that is the scam.
If you already gave the code away
- Work out which service sent it, go to that service directly, and change the password.
- Turn on two-factor authentication there, and sign out other sessions if it offers that. Jinu has a Devices and sessions area under Settings where you can review where you are signed in.
- If it was a phone service such as Google Voice, follow that provider's reclaim process quickly.
- If personal information was exposed, identitytheft.gov has a recovery plan.
- Report the conversation and block the account, and email safety@jinu.app.