Protecting your Online Life, Part 2 - Personal Phone
Create a layer of anonymity by not using your mobile number
Back when I was growing up in the 1980s, a big bulky phone book would arrive on our doorstep about once a year. Pages colored yellow contained phone numbers and addresses for businesses, and white-colored pages contained names, addresses, and phone numbers of residents living in my town. I recall the pride neighbors shared about having their information available in this big book for folks to contact them to say hi. Fast forward to 2021. I’m not sure we would want our home address and home phone number documented in a phone book for all residents in town to access.
In my previous post, I stated my belief that we should be guarding and protecting four items in our online lives, the first being our personal email address. The second item is our personal phone number. I believe our mobile phones, and even landline phones, should be kept private and only shared with people we know and trust. But what about online businesses? In many cases, we are required to provide a phone number as a method of contact for order updates via text message or voice call. I’m wagering that the phone number you provide is part of the pile of customer data these online companies sell to others as another revenue stream for their business.
The Google Alias
If my personal mobile phone number is (248) 434-5508, and I have an account with Google, I can obtain a free phone number with Google Voice, such as (248) 555-1234. Same area code as my personal phone number, but your results may vary depending on where you live. With this “alias number” I can send/receive phone calls and text messages with a free Google Voice app on my mobile phone. For those who only have a landline phone and no mobile phone, they can use a web browser to visit voice.google.com to make phone calls and text messages.
The Benefits
The main benefit I’ve found with Google Voice is its forwarding feature. Any phone call or text message gets redirected automatically from my alias (248) 555-1234 to my personal (248) 434-5508 number. I only use my GVoice number for cases where I have low trust:
Online Accounts - All my online accounts have my alias number in the account settings.
My Workplace - The co-workers whom I trust have my personal number. The business has the alias number…and an alias email address. They still can reach me. It’s just not my personal info.
A College or University - If I’m a student pursuing a degree, I’ll trust my classmates and friends with my personal phone number, but my student account information will contain the alias number…and an alias email address. They still can reach me. It’s just not my personal info.
Member Reward Accounts for national chain and local businesses - We may know and trust the folks working for a local business, but the phone number we use for member rewards is only used to identify us in their customer list, not a method of communication used to actually call us to thank us for supporting their business.
Signing a petition - I may support the initiative I am signing my name to, but I have no idea what the petition originators will do with my information. They get the alias number.
Someone hitting on me in a bar who wants my phone number - This example is for single folks. I’m happily married.
The Contact
In my personal mobile phone, I created a contact called Alias Number with my GVoice (248) 555-1234 number. Whenever I get a forwarded text message, perhaps for multi-factor authentication, my phone reads “Alias Number,” and I know that’s from Google Voice.
The Prevention
I also use an alias phone number to decrease my chances of a SIM Swapping attack. If an online website gets hacked, and my customer information falls into the hands of the adversaries, they might impersonate me with my mobile carrier’s customer service saying my previous phone got stolen, they have a new phone with a new SIM card, and can my account be transferred over to this new phone. If they’re convicing enough, a mobile carrier customer service rep might actually switch my account service over to the adversary, which would immediately render my personal mobile phone unable to make calls or receive service. With an alias number with Google Voice, a SIM swapping attack isn’t possible. It’s not tied to a mobile carrier.
The Alternative
If you are interested in pursuing an alias number for your online life, and do not want to use Google, send me an email at chrispowell@hey.com. I have an alternate route up my sleeve to share for your consideration.
Thanks for your time. I do appreciate it,
- Chris