This one still gives me a bit of anxiety when I think back on it. I was in Albania, working from a small Airbnb in Tirana, when I opened my laptop to check my email. Instead of the usual inbox, I saw this message:
“We detected suspicious activity. Please verify your identity.”
And just like that, I was locked out of my Google account.
What Happened?
Google saw that someone (me) was trying to log in from a country I’d never been to before. New IP, new device, totally out of pattern. To them, it looked like a hack attempt.
But to me, it was just Tuesday.
The Problem?
Google wanted to send a verification code to my phone number.
My U.S. SIM didn’t work in Albania. I couldn’t receive texts.
I also didn’t have my backup codes saved offline (lesson learned).
And since my backup email was another Gmail account… also locked.
Total mess.
How I Got Back In
After a mild panic, here’s what actually worked:
- I used a friend’s phone to call my U.S. number’s voicemail from abroad.
- Thankfully, my provider forwarded SMS-to-voicemail, and I caught the last digits of the code.
- I got in long enough to update my recovery options and generate new backup codes.
- I screenshotted the codes, saved them offline, and emailed them to a non-Google address just in case.
It was a huge wake-up call.
What You Should Do Before You Travel
Here’s what I wish I had done — and now always do:
- Set up two-factor authentication, but use an authenticator app instead of SMS.
- Generate backup codes and save them offline (print them, screenshot them, anything).
- Add a secondary recovery email that isn’t tied to the same provider.
- Let Google know you’re traveling — go to your account settings and add travel details. Sometimes it helps prevent security holds.
- Keep access to at least one SIM card or method of receiving verification codes if needed.
Why It Matters
So much of travel today depends on access to your digital life — bookings, maps, banking, even boarding passes.
Getting locked out of your main account can snowball into a much bigger crisis fast.
It’s not about paranoia. It’s just about being prepared when your login triggers a security alarm thousands of miles from home.