The well known third party online payment processor Skill announced that as of today all Skrill users have the option of enabling a two factor authentication, also known as 2FA, on their e-wallets. This is provided via Google Authenticator.
The payment service sent e-mail notifications to merchant account holders to activate this 2FA method which is free for all users. Earlier Skrill introduced similar security measure to merchants- the hardware security token which they had to pay for. However, this new method is completely free of charge. You can log into your Skill account and check this for yourself.
Once the 2FA is set up, you will no longer need to use your physical security token. Instead, you will need to type in a changing six digit code provided by the Google Authenticator app. To enable it, go to your account settings under ‘manage your settings’. Then click on the two factor authentication. This is how it works: you log in to your Skrill account as usual and then you will be asked for code generated on your mobile phone via the app.
What’s interesting about Skrill’s e-mail notification is that the provider also urges users to change their password within the next 24 hours. In addition, the payment processor also sent another e-mail notifying merchants to enable IP address restrictions. If they don’t do this, the service is adopting a questionable tactic asking for merchants to sign a form that absolves the company of all responsibility for any possible fraudulent transactions made from their accounts even though the 2FA is used.
Nothing is publically said so far, but with these new security measures it’s highly likely that Skrill has had security breach and they are trying to fix the holes. Nevertheless, if you own a Skrill account, log in and activate this free security measure.