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 — by spamming our cell phones with text and calls.

While hitting decline and spamming “STOP” to any spammer that contacts you technically works, it’s a nuisance, and if we’ve learned anything, it’s 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, Spokeo explains why you might want to set up a second phone number, and how to go about it if you think it’s the right move for you.

Business, Conversation, and Spam

Having a business phone number isn’t 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 don’t 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 “public” 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 “disposable” phone number that you’ll 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 “private” number, you’re reducing the potential sources of spam.

How to Get a Second Phone Number

There are lots of ways to get a second phone number, 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 doesn’t support dual SIMs, you could physically swap a second one in and out, but that would get old in a hurry.

It’s 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 — some phone-centric, some text-centric. You’ll find lots of them on the App Store and Play Store. You can also get your second phone number from a service like Google Voice. Setting up Google Voice 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. You’ll be able to scroll through a list of available phone numbers for your chosen area and pick one that’s memorable for you. Once it’s set up, calls can be routed to your home phone, your cell, or any other convenient device.

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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 — that leaves one remaining question to be addressed: “Is it worth my while?”

Everyone’s going to have their own take on that, but the most honest answer is “not necessarily.” If you’ve ever moved between states or countries and had to change your phone number, you’ll doubtlessly know what a pain it was. The longer you’ve had your phone number and the more places you’ve used it, the more effort will be required for the transition to be successful. Inevitably, you’ll miss someone you should have updated.

There are other practical issues to consider. In the case of third-party apps and services, there’s the potential for cost increases over time or your provider winding down operations. In those cases, you’ll end up with growing costs or having to start over with yet another new number.

Finally, your new “alternative” number will receive a lot of spammy and scammy calls and messages (that’s what it’s for, after all). That can leave you just as inundated as you were before, and potentially paying for the privilege.

Maybe Just ‘Work Smarter’ With What You’ve Got?

The biggest criticism of the whole “second phone number” play is that you may already have better alternatives in front of you that won’t 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 “working smarter, not working harder.”

These measures include:

• Take advantage of your carrier’s add-on security offerings. These vary from carrier to carrier and plan to plan, but you’ll usually have the option of getting more robust options for blocking/filtering calls and texts. Some carriers offer a third-party app, and others “roll their own,” but either way, using your carrier’s 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 many good products available, and while no single option is being explicitly endorsed or recommended, comparative reviews are widely available online. They’ll 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 “digital hygiene” — not impulse-downloading apps and not giving out your phone number in scenarios where it’s optional — can help keep you and your phone number closer to being spam-free.

A Second Phone Number: Take It or Leave It?

It’s pretty easy to recommend disposable email addresses as a protective measure. Email is a relatively simple tool with a narrow set of uses, and it’s 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 “burner,” just like a disposable email, but that really limits your potential use cases for it.

That doesn’t 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 we’ve suggested will do more to keep you spam free.

This story was produced by Spokeo and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.