Tired of phone spam? Consider getting a second phone number
Tired of phone spam? Consider getting a second phone number
As marketing and spam moved from billboards to email inboxes, most people quickly learned that having at least two email addresses was necessary. One inbox for any website or service that you know is going to spam you with junk, and another email you only give to people that you want to interact with (or at least need to interact with). While the multiemail trick is just as applicable today, brands and other spammers have found another way to get their messages in front of our eyes or in our ears â by spamming our cell phones with text and calls.
While hitting decline and spamming âSTOPâ to any spammer that contacts you technically works, itâs a nuisance, and if weâve learned anything, itâs only going to get worse from here. So, some people are moving to a new anti-spam method that shares inspiration from having two emails: having two phone numbers.
Here, explains why you might want to set up a second phone number, and how to go about it if you think itâs the right move for you.
Business, Conversation, and Spam
Having a business phone number isnât new. Most people prefer keeping their business lives separate from their personal lives, and if you work a job that demands a lot of phone interactions, having a second number makes that line much easier to maintain. Not to mention having a second, secure phone is never a bad thing when it comes to sensitive business or client matters.
But it is becoming more and more common for those of us who donât need a dedicated business line to set up a second phone number just to act as a spam filter. This is in part a reaction to the feeling that you have to give your phone number any time you want to read an article, order something online, or even just buy a coffee in person. Having a second phone number to give in these situations can help you pay attention to the notifications that are actually important, and put you in greater control of when marketers (and, by extension, spammers) have access to you.
Protecting Yourself With a Second Phone Number
When it comes to setting up a second phone number, there are two main strategies you could take. One is to use that second phone number as your private line, given out only on a need-to-know basis and used solely for your most essential accounts. That could be things like logging into the IRS and SSA, your credit accounts, and your banking institutions. In that scenario, your current main number remains the âpublicâ one you use everywhere.
A second strategy is the exact opposite: In this scenario, you use your current number for your core accounts, and set up a second âdisposableâ phone number that youâll use for everything from OfferUp to those one-time sign-ups when you want to read a specific article without subscribing.
In either case, by reducing the number of companies that see your âprivateâ number, youâre reducing the potential sources of spam.
How to Get a Second Phone Number
There are lots of , if you decide to go that route. The most obvious is to get a second phone, using one as your private phone and the other as the public phone. An alternative is dual SIM support: Some phones can use two different SIM cards simultaneously, giving you separate accounts and phone numbers (they can even be on different carriers) in one physical phone. If your phone doesnât support dual SIMs, you could physically swap a second one in and out, but that would get old in a hurry.
Itâs usually more practical (and less costly) if your second number is virtual, rather than coming from your phone carrier. You can install apps for that specific purpose, with varying combinations of features â some phone-centric, some text-centric. Youâll find lots of them on the App Store and Play Store. You can also get your second phone number from a service like . is quick and simple if you already have a Google Account (most of us do), and it only takes a few minutes longer if you need to set up a Google Account first. Youâll be able to scroll through a list of available phone numbers for your chosen area and pick one thatâs memorable for you. Once itâs set up, calls can be routed to your home phone, your cell, or any other convenient device.
A Second Phone Number Can Help, But There Are Downsides
Having a second phone number can potentially help separate the spammers from the people you actually want to talk to â that leaves one remaining question to be addressed: âIs it worth my while?â
Everyoneâs going to have their own take on that, but the most honest answer is ânot necessarily.â If youâve ever moved between states or countries and had to change your phone number, youâll doubtlessly know what a pain it was. The longer youâve had your phone number and the more places youâve used it, the more effort will be required for the transition to be successful. Inevitably, youâll miss someone you should have updated.
There are other practical issues to consider. In the case of third-party apps and services, thereâs the potential for cost increases over time or your provider winding down operations. In those cases, youâll end up with growing costs or having to start over with yet another new number.
Finally, your new âalternativeâ number will receive a lot of spammy and scammy calls and messages (thatâs what itâs for, after all). That can leave you just as inundated as you were before, and potentially paying for the privilege.
Maybe Just âWork Smarterâ With What Youâve Got?
The biggest criticism of the whole âsecond phone numberâ play is that you may already have better alternatives in front of you that wonât put you through the time and trouble of setting up a new number (and potentially having to notify everyone if switching to a new personal number). In fact, taking these alternative measures can be equally, if not more, effective. Think of it as âworking smarter, not working harder.â
These measures include:
- Take advantage of your carrierâs add-on security offerings. These vary from carrier to carrier and plan to plan, but youâll usually have the option of getting more robust options for blocking/filtering calls and texts. Some carriers offer a third-party app, and others âroll their own,â but either way, using your carrierâs option means you can turn to their support department for help if you need it.
- Add a third-party security or call/blocking app to your phone. There are , and while no single option is being explicitly endorsed or recommended, comparative reviews are widely available online. Theyâll vary in price and sophistication, but some are free and most offer at least a free trial, so you can check out a few until you find one that works the way you want it to.
And finally, just observing the usual rules of good online habits and âdigital hygieneâ â not impulse-downloading apps and not giving out your phone number in scenarios where itâs optional â can help keep you and your phone number closer to being spam-free.
A Second Phone Number: Take It or Leave It?
Itâs pretty easy to recommend disposable email addresses as a protective measure. Email is a relatively simple tool with a narrow set of uses, and itâs not as tightly bound to a given device as your phone number is to your phone. Sure, you can use a phone number as a one-off âburner,â just like a disposable email, but that really limits your potential use cases for it.
That doesnât mean you should dismiss the idea out of hand, just that you should think it through. If a second phone number makes sense for you in your circumstances, and one of the methods of getting that second number is a practical option for you, then, by all means, go ahead. But with or without a second number, the alternative measures weâve suggested will do more to keep you spam free.
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