When you’re on an app like Tinder, you already know better than to just slide anyone your digits. The last thing you want is to be harassed by some crazy person with obnoxious texts and unsolicited pics.
With that same logic, you wouldn’t give your phone number to some random website that says they need it to create an account for you, right?
Well, that’s where a lot of people fall off.
What can someone possibly learn from me just by having my phone number?
To state the obvious, if someone has your phone number, they can harass you and bombard you with ads. To some degree, that has probably happened to you.
You’ll be lounging around your home when suddenly you get an unsolicited text telling you about a deal on clothes, shoes, or food.
However, your phone number can also give a hacker a ridiculous amount of personal information about you. In a recent article in the New York Times, a writer found the following personal knowledge about himself could be attained with his phone number.
- Full name
- Birthday
- Home address
- Size of home in feet
- Cost of property and other taxes
- Full names of family members
- Past phone numbers including ones associated with parents
- Info on other owned property
- Criminal record or lack thereof
Surprise: Facebook let advertisers have your phone number
Read now ►The writer discovered that a hacker could find out more information about him with his phone number that with his full name.
With this information, the writer discovered that someone with malicious intent could now attempt to answer his security questions. He and his family members could also be targeted with phishing ads. A hijacker could even trick his phone carrier into getting a new SIM card with his number. This means the hijacker would have access to the writer’s phone number and do with it as he pleases.
To make matters worse, this information wasn’t very hard to find at all. By using Whitepages Premium, a totally legal online tool, most of this information was uncovered from public records. Although using this information for nefarious deeds is illegal, obtaining it is not.
Why do so many websites ask for our phone numbers?
In a lot of cases, giving a website your phone number makes perfect sense. For example, food delivery apps like Grubhub or the Papa John’s app and website ask for your phone number. They need it in case they show up to your residence to deliver your food and nobody is answering the door.
At this point, you might be thinking, “Instagram and Twitter don’t deliver me food, so why do they need my number?”
Well, they use it for a legitimate reason as well. For one, it makes logging in a whole lot easier. Be honest, are you more likely to remember your own cellphone number or the random username you created for a website? Also, many websites and apps require a cellphone number to make sure that you’re an actual person and not a bot.
What should I do?
You don’t need to get a new phone number or throw your SIM card into a blender. However, you should start thinking twice before you give a person, app, or a website your cellphone number.
You should also consider upping your game when it comes to your online security. Make better passwords, and use two-factor verification whenever possible.
How to: create strong passwords
Read now ►Start treating websites and apps like they’re a potential new match from Tinder. Genuinely ask yourself whether you can trust this site (or person) enough to give them access to personal information about yourself. If the answer is “no,” do the smart thing and swipe left.
