Tip of the Week: How to Implement Two-Factor Authentication for Your Amazon Account
When it comes to shopping online, security is a critical consideration. After all, if someone else managed to get a hold of your account credentials, they could very easily purchase everything they had ever wanted from life and send you crumbling into a crippling, depressing debt. To counter this, many online retailers are increasing the security measures associated with the login process. Amazon is a perfect example of a company that is doing so, namely by implementing the option for its users to set up two-factor authentication while logging in and making purchases.
Amazon is a useful resource for business customers to supply and furnish their offices, but if elected as the preferred outlet for the business’s supply needs, the owner will want to be absolutely certain that their account is secure. After all, if someone were to get into the owner’s account, it would not be difficult to cripple the business by making fraudulent purchases with large sums.
Fortunately, Amazon has taken some steps to reinforce the security of accounts at the discretion of the account holder by enabling the option of implementing 2-Factor Authentication, or 2FA. 2FA can be summed up as the practice of requiring an additional identifier as a login credential in addition to a username and password. This additional identifier is provided to the user as they attempt to log in, usually by text message or robocall. This practice provides a much greater level of security to online accounts, keeping your business dealings free of interference.
What follows are the steps to implement 2FA to your Amazon account.
Log into Amazon on a desktop computer or laptop as you would normally, and click through to Your Account in the menu drop-down.
Once there, locate the Settings – Password, Prime & E-mail area and click Login & Security Settings.
At the bottom of the Change Accounts Settings menu, select the Edit button next to Advanced Security Settings.
This will bring you to Amazon’s Two-Step Verification, their term for 2FA, with a Get Started button. Click through.
On the screen that appears, select Text message (SMS) and enter your cell phone number. Click Send Code. You should receive a text message within a few minutes containing a security code.
Once you plug in that code and select Verify code and continue, you will need to configure a secondary authentication method. Since the backup text message and voice call options will not work with the same phone number, you will need to utilize an Authenticator app.
While Amazon is still open on your computer, download the Authenticator of your choice from a reputable developer. Follow the instructions of that particular Authenticator app to link it to your Amazon account. Complete the link process by clicking Verify code and continue.
You will finally be shown an informative screen regarding using 2FA on older devices and disabling it on your most-used devices, if that is an option that interests you. Once you click the confirmation button at the bottom of the page, you will be brought to a success page while an email is sent to your inbox to confirm.
At this point, you’ve done it. 2FA is officially enabled to better protect your Amazon login.
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