Do You Need A Secret Number? How to Get One

In 2021, there were more than 600,000 reports of scams that occurred through phone contacts. The reason for this is very obvious since phone numbers reveal sensitive information that hackers can use to defraud unsuspecting telephone users. Unfortunately, data breaches make it almost impossible to protect your personal number from online scammers.

What you can do to avoid phone scams and phishing is to set up a secret number. Unlike a personal telephone number, a secret number contains little or no confidential details about you. With a secret number, you are mostly safe from any manipulative activities of online fraudsters.  

Reasons You Need A Secret Number

You can use secret numbers as temporary business numbers, one-time numbers for signing up on new apps, or disposable numbers for dating apps. Having a secret number is important for two basic reasons: to maintain privacy and online anonymity. 

It is difficult to maintain privacy once you give out a personal number to every person you meet in a restaurant, cinema, or online. You may get too many calls, texts, or robocalls from strangers. To keep your activities private, give secret numbers to strangers while you preserve your private number for only close friends and relatives. This way, it is difficult for strangers to hack into your phone and monitor what you do. 

You also need a secret number to remain anonymous on the internet, which is quite the task in today's world. Each webpage you visit and hyperlink you click on generates tracked and logged data. While some people often resort to VPNs, several reports reveal that this may not be the ideal option. For instance, a research study on 283 VPNs shows that 82% request permission to access confidential information on the user's device. Unfortunately, many free VPNs sell user information to private companies. A secret phone number can help you stay online without hackers gaining access to your private data. 

What Hackers Can Do With Your Phone Number

With access to your phone number, fraudsters and hackers can carry out fraudulent activities. Some of these include: 

• Reroute messages and calls: Hackers may call your telephone provider to impersonate you and reroute your messages and calls. They can bypass security measures by using the private information obtained about you. After rerouting successfully, the scammer can intercept all your calls and messages.
• Steal personal information: Once they get your phone number, some criminals can use reverse lookup platforms like Whitepages to find other details related to the number. Some of these details include social media accounts, birthdates, addresses, and names of relatives.
• SIM swaps: This is a common scam in the US, with citizens losing over $68 million to sim swapping frauds in 2021. SIM swapping occurs when scammers take advantage of your phone company's "porting" option to obtain your phone number. After getting your number, a fraudster might impersonate you and call your phone provider, asking them to "port-out" your mobile number. The phone company then swaps your mobile number for the fraudster's SIM card. With your phone number, the hacker can access your social accounts, send or receive messages, or make calls on your behalf.
• Text scams or Smishing: Hackers often use fake text message scams to mislead users into providing personal information or place spyware on their smartphones. Some criminals impersonate legitimate companies to send harmful messages on Whatsapp and Telegram.
• Spoofing: This technique allows hackers to alter the caller ID displayed on the user's telephone so that it appears to be from a trustworthy company. You may receive a call supposedly from a respected and well-known company or government agency, such as the IRS. The impersonator may then claim that you owe taxes or ask to "confirm" your SSN.

How to Get A Secret Number

Due to increasingly innovative techniques used by fraudsters, avoiding unwanted scam calls and messages is often challenging if your private number is online. Some basic steps to reduce strange communications include adding your number to the National Do Not Call Registry and installing a reverse phone lookup app. However, the best preventive measure is to set up a secret number. Here are a few ways to obtain a secret number: 

Get A Second Phone Number and Burner Phone

Although getting a second phone number is a simple way to maintain anonymity, it is not entirely safe. Note that a second line would still be connected to basic information about you, including your name and address. However, you can use the second phone number to open temporary social accounts and recover passwords. Afterward, keep it locked up in an office or safe place to avoid unwanted calls or messages. This way, scammers will find it difficult to track or monitor your activities. If your phone is missing or stolen, your data and social accounts are still secure.  

People often use a second phone number with a burner phone. Burner phones are inexpensive prepaid mobile phones ideal for temporary use. In the past, people purchased burner phones with cash to eliminate any form of paper trail that might link the telephone number to the buyer.

However, hackers can still track a burner phone especially when not used properly. Burner phones are ideal for online dating, conducting business, or accessing certain accounts. To maintain your privacy, here are some dos and don'ts of using burner phones: 

• Do not use a burner phone or temporary line to open any major account (i.e., checking accounts).
• Do not buy a burner phone on a mobile contract. Note that using a burner phone without a contract is legal.
• Do not use a burner phone to surf the internet or install apps.
• Do not use burner phones for too long. If you use one for long, tracking and monitoring you becomes easy.

Use Virtual Phone Number Apps

Rather than use conventional burner phones, a safer option to consider is virtual phone number apps. These apps provide a temporary phone number you can use to make calls from your personal phone. Virtual phone numbers are typically used to forward messages or incoming calls to another number, such as a landline or mobile number. 

Phone number apps generate fake US numbers regardless of where you are at that moment. All incoming calls and messages will be diverted to the virtual number without revealing your current location. Furthermore, you don't have to purchase a sim card, additional cable, or hardware to start using a virtual phone number. Once you download a virtual phone number app, you can subscribe and start making calls anonymously on the same mobile device.  

Examples of apps that allow you to create alternate phone numbers include Burner, Hushed, and TextNow. The subscription on these apps ranges from $3.99/month to more than $100/year. These applications allow you to rent a number because you cannot use the secret number if you cancel the subscription or your payment defaults. In general, virtual phone number apps are ideal for unimportant social accounts or to increase your anonymity. Although it can help you maintain online anonymity, a virtual phone number is only suitable for temporary use.

Use VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) Services

VoIP allows you to make calls or receive messages over an internet connection. You will get a virtual number with VoIP technology, similar to phone number apps. However, unlike burner apps, you won't need a telecom provider to communicate with people. Another difference between VoIP-based numbers and virtual phone numbers is that virtual phone numbers may be safer. Since VoIP services require that calls are made over the internet, fraudsters can track and still monitor your activity. 

VOIP technology provides virtual phone numbers, which you can use for a longer period while still maintaining your privacy online. An example of a VoIP-based service is Google Voice. Note that VoIP calling features may be unreliable if your internet connection is poor. Furthermore, some phone number apps, like Burner, also provide VoIP services.