Two-factor as safety equipment
Why the one-time password is the desk's first line of defence against account takeover.
The one-time password is the second factor in the operator's login flow. It is sent by SMS or generated by an authenticator app. The OTP exists to confirm that the person entering the password also controls the registered phone number or the authenticator device.
The desk's reading rule: a reader who loses access to the registered phone must reset the account through the operator's support flow, never by sharing the OTP with a third party. Sharing an OTP is the single most common route to a compromised account in the desk's evidence folder.
Source frame: a thumb on a phone screen typing the six-digit OTP. Editorial illustration only; the desk has no operator relationship.