The two-factor prompt on the nexus market login

The two-factor prompt on the real nexus market login is a single field with a single line above it. It does not ask the reader for anything the reader has not been asked for before. A prompt with extra fields on it is worth another beat.

What it is

The two-factor prompt sits after the password field. On the real page it is one input, one short line of copy above the input and one submit button. It does not ask for a phone number. It does not ask for an email address. It does not ask for a backup phrase, a seed, a wallet address or any other second secret. It reads the second factor the reader already has, and it moves on when the reader has entered it.

Lifeline

Shape of the prompt

Fields

One input. Not a pair of inputs. Not a stack of inputs. A stack is a form and a form on a two-factor page is a signal.

Copy above the field

A single short line that names the second factor by shape and asks for it. No paragraph. No warning icon.

Button

One primary button, one word or two of copy. The primary button colour matches the primary button colour on the login screen.

Retry

On a wrong answer the same prompt is redrawn, the field is emptied and the copy above is unchanged. The reader is not redirected to a different page.

What a fake tends to add

• A field for the phone number the reader used to sign up with. The real prompt does not need this and does not ask for it.
• A field for the email address the reader used to sign up with. Same reasoning.
• A note above the field that asks the reader to enable a new second factor, with a link to a page the reader has never seen before.
• A quiet dropdown that offers the reader the option to skip the second factor for this device. The real page does not offer this.

Why the prompt is thin

A page that asks for a second factor is asking for one thing. Every extra field on the same prompt is a chance for the imitator to harvest more than a token. That is why the real prompt stays thin, and it is why the added fields on a fake prompt read as loud even when they are drawn quietly. The absence of ornament on this screen is the signal, in the same shape as it is on the captcha before it.

How a reader checks this

A reader reads the copy above the field once and looks for words like phone, email, backup, seed and wallet. If those words are on the prompt, the prompt is asking for something the real prompt does not need. The reader can also look at the count of input fields on the screen. One field is what fits. Two or more is worth another beat.

What this pairs with

The two-factor prompt pairs with the captcha before it and with the primary button colour on the same page. If the captcha was quiet and the button matches the site elsewhere, the prompt is probably part of the same session as the earlier screens. A quiet captcha followed by a busy two-factor prompt is a shape worth another beat before the reader types anything.

Engagement

What this card does not claim

• It does not name the shape of the second factor on the real page. The shape is not the signal.
• It does not say the field has always been a single input. A rebuild might change this and this card will move with it.
• It does not treat a busy prompt as proof of anything. Busy prompts happen on real pages too. It is one signal among a handful.

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