The account of one of my contributors was frozen

[Buhanochki]

Problems with contributor's account

One of my authors' accounts was flagged, and he can't dispute it, and all of his repositories aren't publicly visible. Contacting support doesn't work at all, as it requires phone number verification, and notifications aren't sent to Russian numbers. A VPN and virtual number also don't work.
Please advise what can be done in this situation.
All the data that GitGuard reported has been deleted.

[Sameer-710]

Unfortunately, this isn’t something maintainers or other users can fix.

If an account is flagged or frozen, only GitHub Support can review and restore it. There’s no way for repository owners or contributors to override that from their side.

If phone verification isn’t working, the only option is to keep trying through GitHub Support using the official contact form, possibly from a different network or device. GitHub doesn’t provide alternative public escalation paths for account restrictions.

So in this case, resolution has to come directly from GitHub Support.

[Buhanochki]

Thank you very much.
Is there any chance that Git support will see that the issue has been resolved and unlock the account themselves, without me contacting them?

Or maybe there's another way to verify their identity, since phone verification doesn't work with Russian phone numbers. Virtual one doesn't work either

[Sameer-710]

Unfortunately, GitHub usually won’t automatically unlock an account just because the reported data was removed. In most cases, a manual review by GitHub Support is required.

There isn’t another way for us to verify identity or bypass phone verification from our side. The account owner will need to contact GitHub Support directly and explain the situation.

I know it’s frustrating, but only GitHub Support can resolve account restrictions.

[MHassan-Tariq]

This is a complex situation, especially given the current (2026) delivery issues with SMS verification for Russian phone numbers. When an account is flagged by GitGuard or GitHub’s automated trust systems, the profile and repositories are hidden to prevent the spread of potentially malicious or policy-violating content.

Since the contributor has already deleted the offending data, the goal is now to bypass the "SMS wall" to reach a human reviewer.

1. The "Account Recovery" Support Path (No Login Required)
   GitHub's standard support form often requires a login or SMS. However, there is a dedicated "Account Recovery" path for users who are locked out or flagged and cannot verify via SMS.

The contributor should try this specific link:
👉 GitHub Support - Account Recovery

Select "Other" or "Two-Factor Authentication Recovery": Even if the issue is a flag and not 2FA, selecting these options often triggers a different support workflow that doesn't immediately demand an SMS code.

Use the Primary Email: They must use the exact email address associated with the flagged account.

2. Providing "Proof of Ownership" Without SMS
   Since they cannot verify via phone, they must offer alternative technical proof in the support ticket to prove they are the legitimate owner:

SSH Key Fingerprints: Mention the fingerprints of the SSH keys currently added to the account.

Recent Commit Hashes: Provide hashes of the last few private commits made before the account was flagged.

Personal Access Tokens (PAT): If they have an active PAT, they can mention the last four digits or the date it was created.

3. The "TOTP" Transition (Long-term Fix)
   GitHub has been moving away from SMS as a primary 2FA method because of its unreliability across borders.

Advice for the contributor: Once (and if) they regain access, they should immediately switch from SMS to a TOTP Authenticator App (like Aegis, Raivo, or Google Authenticator) or a Passkey. These methods do not require a cellular signal or a specific country's phone network to work.

4. What You (The Maintainer) Can Do
   As the project owner, you cannot "unflag" someone else's account, but you can help the review process:

Open a Ticket as a Maintainer: You can open a ticket here and mention that a key contributor (provide their username) has been flagged.

Vouch for the Content: State clearly that the data reported by GitGuard has been removed and that the contributor is essential to a legitimate open-source project. This "human signal" can sometimes move a ticket out of the automated queue and into a manual review.

[Isaac1h]

There isn’t another way for us to verify identity or bypass phone verification from our side. The account owner will need to contact GitHub Support directly and explain the situation.

I know it’s frustrating, but only GitHub Support can resolve account restrictions.