Fasten your seatbelts cause it’s a wild ride out there! With phone numbers tied to virtually all of our personal accounts, logins, authentications, etc., protecting your phone number is more crucial than ever. Spamming, spoofing, smishing, phishing – we’re running out of phrases for common types of security threats bombarding from every angle.
So, how can you keep your personal phone number safe? We have a few suggestions and easy steps you can take to augment your phone number’s security with NumberBarn, or with whoever supports your number.
As fraudsters, bots, spammers and solicitors find new workarounds and vulnerabilities anywhere they can, we want to work with you to shield your phone number(s). Keeping your phone number secure can ultimately safeguard your identity and privacy.
Three Ways to Protect Your Phone Number
No matter what service provider supports your number, here are three easy ways to better protect your personal phone numbers:
1. Stop giving out your personal number.
We know it’s tempting, but refraining from using your personal number for those exciting “rewards” programs at your favorite taco shop, grocery store, etc. will help keep your number off telemarketer lists, etc. You can still get those points, but there’s a safer way to maximize those BOGOs, loyalty perks and deals.
2. Start using an alternate number.
Use an alternate or secondary phone number anywhere you might think could potentially sell or inadvertently misuse a phone number. What does that mean? Share your personal number only with your most trusted contacts, etc. Beyond that, use an alternate or second phone number.
3. Move your numbers where you feel safest.
You legally own your phone number(s) so you can take those numbers wherever you feel safest. According to the FCC, your phone number belongs to you, not your carrier, device, etc. If you feel your number is unsafe with a provider, you’re free to port it (transfer) it to any carrier or provider you want (as long as you’re not breaching contracts, have fully paid your bill, etc.).
If you don’t already have a secondary phone number, the time has come. Having a second phone number isn’t just for business use anymore.
Get a “Public” Secondary Phone Number
Free or affordable secondary phone numbers are readily available. And “in this day and age” as they say, everyone should have one.
Yes, at NumberBarn, we sell budget-friendly local, toll free and vanity phone numbers. Of course we want you to have a fun, personalized phone number that spells your name or brand. BUT, we really want you to do whatever you need to do to keep your long-time private phone number and personal information safe.
Whether you get a free virtual phone number from Google Voice, Burner or any other phone number provider, having a second phone number is your simplest and strongest first step for keeping your private phone number – private.
You don’t have to get a pricey second line from your cell carrier either. You can use features like call forwarding via a NumberBarn or Google Voice number to forward calls from your second phone number to your personal number, without the caller ever seeing your private number. And for less than the cost of your favorite latte, you can avoid much costlier and jeopardizing threats like identity theft, etc.
How NumberBarn Keeps Your Number Safe
Did you know it’s possible for bad actors to literally steal your phone number right out from under you? Port-out scams and SIM swapping have become common ways for thieves to steal phone numbers and use those phone numbers to drain bank accounts, etc.
Whether you’re parking (like storing or saving) your nostalgic landline number with us, or using a second number with NumberBarn – if you have a phone number with us, we reinforce your security with multiple safeguards for your phone number.
In addition to the industry-standard features below, to keep your phone number in your hands only, NumberBarn offers multi-layered protection from unauthorized port-outs. These include:
- Account Number and PIN – All numbers are protected by an account number and PIN, both required for porting away.
- Custom Port Out PINs – You can create your own unique, custom PINs to override your default PIN, adding another layer of security.
- Port Out Notifications – Notifications for port-out activity alert you when a number attempts to port out.
- Daily Audits – We perform a daily system audit to confirm your numbers are secure and active.
- Transfer Lock – “Freeze” a number to prevent port outs. You can enable the transfer lock feature to reject all port outs. Turn it on only when you’re ready to port away.
Does NumberBarn sell your number?
This is a valid question, to which we’re happy to reply with a resounding ”no!” NumberBarn does NOT sell your number, period. You can find our Privacy Policy and learn more about NumberBarn’s privacy practices here.
What You Can Do to Protect Your Phone Number
Whether you have a NumberBarn account or not, don’t forget to utilize these common phone security features available on most devices and with most phone number providers (including NumberBarn). Enable the following in-app or within your device to bolster your phone number security:
- Call Blocking – Block unwanted calls and spam as soon as you receive them. This is valuable not just for your safety and sanity, but it also helps carriers recognize these numbers and limit them from breaching their spam filters. Here’s how to block calls across your devices.
- Caller ID – Only answer calls from known contacts. Caller IDs may look legitimate. If the Caller ID has a bank name, etc. don’t answer it! This could be spoofing. Call your bank’s verified customer service number to find out if they called you and why.
- Spam Risk Blocking – Most phones and service providers will include some sort of spam blocking. You can also enable anonymous and international call blocking with NumberBarn’s spam blocking feature.
- Two-Step Authentication (2SA) / Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) – Before logging in to your account via a web browser or our mobile app, you are required to complete a secondary verification step. Utilizing multifactor authentication, 2SA or 2FA significantly boosts security for your accounts. You can generally verify a device or account via email, SMS, phone call, or an authenticator app.
Friendly Reminders for Added Phone Number Protection
Here are a few additional friendly reminders to help keep a phone number safe wherever you host your phone number. (While they might sound obvious, at NumberBarn, we see these often.)
1. Keep your account login information private.
Ensure that no one else has your login information and boost your security with a strong password. Though easier to remember, passwords like “yourname12345” might not be the wisest option as a scammer might remember them too. Consider using a password manager to create and save your random passwords.
Phone number ports happen when the information matches what is on file in your phone number provider account. Don’t let anyone else into your account by protecting your login info from the start.
2. Pay your bill.
Yup. It sounds pretty straightforward across the board, with any provider. Pay your bill, keep your number.
Most providers, including NumberBarn, will notify you multiple times via the email address in your account if your payment method on file is declined. At NumberBarn, if your account is deactivated for 30 days, your numbers are deleted. See below if your number is deleted.
3. Don’t delete your number – unless you absolutely don’t want it!
“Ooops! I forgot to update my payment info!” We understand. If this happens with your NumberBarn number, or any number, contact customer support immediately.
With NumberBarn, if a phone number is deleted and remains in an inactive status for over 30 business days, there’s a chance that we can’t restore it for you. When a phone number is deleted from your account, it’s held by our carrier for anywhere from 30 to 90 days.
If the number is not restored, it will be released back into our carrier’s database. So, time is of the essence. Reach out to us or your phone service provider a.s.a.p. to try and restore it if you’ve accidentally deleted it (or reconsidered an impulse delete).
No matter who supports your number as your phone service provider, you can guard yourself against scams, identity theft, spam, phone number theft and more just by using a second phone number and maximizing your use of available security features. Protect your privacy with a second phone number today, starting at just $5, at NumberBarn!
