What Are the Dangers of Giving Your Number to a Stranger

These days, information technology can reveal more personal information than you remember.

If you lot're like most people, you've become more careful nigh how you use the net. Yous know the risks of sharing personal information online, yous're getting smarter nearly how you use social media, and you watch for potentially harmful email scams. Merely there's one thing y'all might non be equally careful about as you lot should be — sharing your phone number.

Why Shouldn't You Share?
Your telephone number is continued to just near every part of your life these days. Information technology's no longer just a number connected to a landline in a edifice — your mobile telephone number follows you everywhere. Yous utilize your phone number to access membership benefits at the places you shop. You use your jail cell telephone to communicate with your bank and take pictures of your kids. So when that number gets into the wrong hands, it can cause problems.

With a little digging, criminals tin can find out:

• Where y'all alive, how large your business firm is, and how much you pay in taxes
• Past addresses
• The names of your family members
• Whether or not you have a criminal record
• Data about where you've traveled

Some of this data may seem innocent plenty, but in the wrong hands, information technology can expose you to criminal action.

What Tin Happen When Your Number Is Compromised
Hackers, identity thieves, and scammers can use your telephone number to find out where you are (and where yous'll be), impersonate you, hijack your phone, or use your accounts.

If you've used your phone number to connect to any social media accounts, as social media companies oft encourage you to practise, a smart hacker can use your phone number to easily find your business relationship and access it. This leaves anyone you're connected with on that account vulnerable to phishing messages, viruses, and possible identity theft. Hackers tin also apply what they larn about you from your social profiles to respond security questions similar, "What is your female parent'southward maiden name?" or "What was the name of your first pet?" — which can put all of your online accounts at risk.

Hackers can also use your telephone number to hijack that phone number through a procedure chosen SIM swapping. Your phone number account is installed on the hacker's phone, and they tin use it to fob automated services — such as your bank — into believing the hacker is y'all.

Once your phone has been hijacked, you're open to identity theft, your bank accounts are at risk, and your voicemail, text messages, and email are compromised. Email, in item, tin contain an affluence of personal and financial information, putting yous in even more than danger of further criminal activity.

Scammers can use your phone number to target you using phishing texts and robocalls, trying to fob yous into giving upwardly valuable information or money. They tin also apply your hijacked telephone number to trick your friends and family into sharing passwords or sending money to your compromised number.

But criminals aren't the but people who volition exploit your telephone number. Unethical marketers may not steal from you, but they may apply your phone number in their shady marketing practices. For instance, these marketers may add you to robocalls lists, even if you're on the Practice Not Telephone call list. They may also upload your phone number into a database to create a complete digital profile of you, which can then be used to follow you around the internet with ads and, potentially, malware.

Be Smart and Cautious
Utilize common sense to keep your phone number safe from hackers and scammers. Don't make your telephone number public on websites, and don't share it with people and businesses yous don't know. Care for your phone number with the same care you'd treat other personal information. That extra scrap of caution tin become a long way.

How to Protect Your Telephone Number

Here are a few elementary things you can practice to keep your phone number safe from hackers and unscrupulous marketers:

• Don't give out your phone number online. Unless you trust a person, don't requite them your number, fifty-fifty if you bought something from them. If you must share it, do information technology privately (via electronic mail or a direct bulletin) and non on a public message lath.
• Utilize two-factor authentication. 2-cistron hallmark is a second code that you take to enter to gain admission to an account. Setting it up on your phone business relationship tin can prevent SIM swapping.
• Get a telephone number with Google Vox. It'due south free and the number is not connected to your entire life.
• Employ a strong password for connected services. You lot can use an online service likeAccept I Been Pwned to check if yous've already been compromised.

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Source: https://www.mygsc.com/the-downsides-of-sharing-your-phone-number/

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