• Nigerian/African Tech
  • Start Up
  • Internet
    • App
    • Mobile
    • Software
  • Gadgets
  • Money
  • Video
Tech News, Magazine & Review WordPress Theme 2017
  • Home
  • Africa
  • Business
  • Video
  • Metaverse
  • AI
  • Gadgets
  • Earnings
  • Tips
Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
  • Home
  • Africa
  • Business
  • Video
  • Metaverse
  • AI
  • Gadgets
  • Earnings
  • Tips
Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
TechBooky
Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
Home Business

Reasons Not To Use Your Personal Phone Number For Business

Contributor by Contributor
October 30, 2021
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

It seems that everyone wants our personal phone number. It is used to create a new account, rewards programs, reservations, account verification, 2-factor authorization, and, recently, contact tracing. When starting a new business, it can be enticing to give clients and other business contacts your personal phone number because it’s convenient. You already have one, it’s easy for you to remember, and there are no extra expenses or setup involved. However, there are a growing number of risks associated with using your personal phone number for business, and it’s essential to understand what those risks are.

               

Also On TechBooky

Elon Musk Lost $200b Of His Net Worth In About A Year

Apple To Let Developers Charge Up to $10,000 For Apps

St. Petersburg Businessman Andrey Berezin Created A System Of Saving Companies From Bankruptcy

Here Is Why Every Business Needs Digital Marketing

Crypto Firm, FTX Files For Bankruptcy, AS CEO Bankman Resigns After SEC Probe

Brian X. Chen, a writer for the New York Times, shared an experience he once had working with a security analyst to see how his personal phone number could expose him to possible identity theft and other personal risks. His findings can help us to understand how our personal phone number can reveal sensitive personal information.

Chen provided his personal cell phone number to the security analyst. The analyst performed a simple web search of publicly available records on White Pages Premium. According to Chen, the analyst discovered “a full dossier on me — including my name and birth date, my address, the property taxes I pay and the names of members of my family.”

The security firm Chen worked with was equipped with access to more powerful analytics software which could extract all sorts of information about his personal life, including online consumer and government databases. In the hands of knowledgeable identity thief, this data could be used to guess passwords, steal his identity, and extort family members.

Our personal phone numbers are one of our most robust personal identifiers, online and offline. That number is attached to you and only you. Mobile phone service providers and other services we interact with regularly provide or sell our usage and browsing data to third parties. Outside of using a VPN to protect our usage and data, we can’t always control who has access our data.

Tlholohelo Makatu, a writer on Medium.com, writer about horrific experiences that she had after giving out her personal phone number to business clients. “I would receive calls or messages from clients and suppliers. A lot of the time, I’d get these when I’m on my way to work, considerably before 8 AM.”

For Makatu, things only progressed from there. When she provided her personal number to business contacts, she opened her personal life to unwelcome contacts outside of business hours. From her experience, it appears that when customers and providers know they can reach you away from work, they can and will take advantage of that.

These stories illustrate the risks that giving out our personal numbers for business-related interactions can expose us to. While there are many risks, the following are the most detrimental to you, your identity, and your personal life.

 

Business Life and Personal Life Become Intertwined

If you choose to list your personal number for your company, there is no way to separate business communications from personal interactions. It’s already complicated as it is keeping track of the calls and texts from friends and family. Now layer in customer contacts and service providers and you’ll spend more time managing and organizing communications than that which is far more important – growing your business.

 

Changing Your Number Later Become More and More Difficult

As your business grows, you may think it’ll be easy to update your business phone number. Think about your business cards, clients that are accustomed to dialling a number they already know, marketing materials, business accounts, ads, website, social media accounts, suppliers, and other services you use to run your business. Unfortunately, changing your phone number mid-growth will be a herculean project to execute flawlessly.

 

Robocalls and Telemarketers

Managing unwanted calls is hard enough on your personal line. Even though it’s illegal to call someone who hasn’t given their consent for marketing purposes, most robocallers ignore national Do Not Call lists. Robocalls have become an increasingly severe and annoying problem in this hyper-connected time we live in. As our connectivity expands, call spammers and telemarketers can automatically dial hundreds or thousands of numbers instantaneously. According to the FCC, we received nearly 4 billion robocalls per month in 2020 alone, and chances are you’ve received more robocalls than ever during the last few years. With your personal phone number out and available to the public, your time will be consumed by managing many more potentially unwanted calls.

 

Personal Privacy is Compromised

As we saw with Tlholohelo Makatu’s experience above, giving your personal number to clients and providers opens you up to all sorts of unwanted communications. From business calls outside of work hours to unwelcome advances from people you work with, your personal life and privacy are highly likely to be compromised.

 

Vulnerable to Identity Theft

As Brian Chen noted in his NYT article, your personal number is a primary identifier lots of sensitive personal information. These days, one must be careful about giving out their personal phone number to strangers, let alone having it available on public websites and other public arenas. In addition to business cards and materials, your personal phone number is tied to your personal accounts, supplier databases, business licenses, tax records, and government agencies. By putting your personal number on business materials, you are amplifying your potential exposure to being targeted not just by annoying telemarketers, but even by scammers and identity thieves.

 

What Options Do I Have to Get a Business Phone Number?

If you are starting a business, you have multiple options available to you for establishing a business phone number. You can buy a separate cell phone with a phone number dedicated to your business. Second, you can go through your phone company to set up a traditional business phone system. Most business owners don’t want to be bothered with two cell phones or don’t want to deal with buying new equipment and being locked into long-term service contracts. That’s where our third option comes in – simply download a mobile app. Today’s technology empowers business owners to add a second phone number to their personal cell phone for business. Your business phone number would not intertwine with personal calls, text messages, or voicemail. These mobile apps enable you to talk and text with customers and suppliers from your Business Caller ID so that you can maintain your personal privacy. In evaluating your options, choose one that provides you with the security and convenience you’re seeking as you build your business.

Related Posts:

  • Here's How To Add A Business Line To Your Smartphone
    Here's How To Add A Business Line To Your Smartphone
  • Reasons For Entrepreneurs To Have Virtual Phone Services
    Reasons For Entrepreneurs To Have Virtual Phone Services
  • Sandes Is India's Answer To WhatsApp, Here's What To Know
    Sandes Is India's Answer To WhatsApp, Here's What To Know
  • Instagram Faces Probe By The EU Over Handling Of Children Data In Ireland
    Instagram Faces Probe By The EU Over Handling Of Children…
  • How To Recover Yahoo Password Without Phone Number And Alternate Email
    How To Recover Yahoo Password Without Phone Number And…
  • 4 Ways You Can Make Your Business More Technologically Secure
    4 Ways You Can Make Your Business More Technologically…
  • How To Earn A Lot With Corporate Rides? (Uber For Business)
    How To Earn A Lot With Corporate Rides? (Uber For Business)
  • Set Custom Rules For Your Incoming Google Voice Calls
    Set Custom Rules For Your Incoming Google Voice Calls
Tags: businessphone numberprivacyvoip
Contributor

Contributor

Posts by contributors. You can send in a post to be reviewed and published to info@techbooky.com

BROWSE BY CATEGORIES

Receive top tech news directly in your inbox

Loading

Recent

Tesla Cybertruck Mass Production Won’t Start Until 2024

Tesla Cybertruck Mass Production Won’t Start Until 2024

January 27, 2023
Apple Reportedly Delays Development Of Its Own WiFi Chips

Apple Reportedly Delays Development Of Its Own WiFi Chips

January 27, 2023
Google Commits To Complying With EU Laws On Its Services

Google Commits To Complying With EU Laws On Its Services

January 27, 2023
Airtel Launches Its eSIM Technology In Nigeria

Airtel Launches Its eSIM Technology In Nigeria

January 27, 2023
In Spite Of The Sucess Of Genetically Modified Foods, Debates Abound

In Spite Of The Sucess Of Genetically Modified Foods, Debates Abound

January 27, 2023
How And How Not Gaming Can Be Used In Solving Real Problems

How And How Not Gaming Can Be Used In Solving Real Problems

January 27, 2023
Tesla Sues Former Employee For Allegedly Stealing Trade Secrets

Tesla Made The Most Money In 2022, But Its Future Still Rocky

January 26, 2023
Shutterstock Introduces Its Generative AI Image Tool

Shutterstock Introduces Its Generative AI Image Tool

January 26, 2023
Meta Agrees To $725M Settlement Of Cambridge Analytica Lawsuit

Meta Set To Reinstate Trump’s Facebook And Instagram Accounts

January 26, 2023
Here’s How ChatGPT Can Help Improve Your SEO

Here’s How ChatGPT Can Help Improve Your SEO

January 25, 2023

Browse Archives

January 2023
MTWTFSS
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
3031 
« Dec    

About Us

TechBooky

TechBooky is a social Tech blog with a special focus on the budding African Technology sector. TechBooky is currently based in Abuja, Nigeria.

Subscribe to TechBooky

Enter your email address to subscribe to TechBooky and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 24 other subscribers.

Receive top tech news directly in your inbox

Loading

Popular Tags

AI (252) amazon (95) android (281) app (610) Apple (473) artificial intelligence (265) business (338) china (113) cloud (135) cryptocurrency (158) ecommerce (109) enterprise (239) facebook (472) gadget (448) gaming (160) google (545) government (381) guest post (108) instagram (137) internet (352) ios (249) iphone (210) microsoft (261) mobile (281) new feature (287) nigeria (276) privacy (135) research (134) samsung (139) security (374) smartphone (235) social media (671) software (415) startup (268) streaming (140) telecom (157) tips (340) transport (104) twitter (216) united states (191) users (132) videos (115) website (159) whatsapp (129) youtube (106)

Quick Links

  • Home
  • Africa
  • Business
  • Video
  • Metaverse
  • AI
  • Gadgets
  • Earnings
  • Tips

Popular Post

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Download Free Editable Resume Templates – Word / Docx – 2022

Download Free Editable Resume Templates – Word / Docx – 2022

July 25, 2022
The Best Free PC Games

The Best Free PC Games

July 29, 2022
Recover Permanently Deleted Emails From iCloud Manually

Recover Permanently Deleted Emails From iCloud Manually

March 5, 2022
Resume and Cover letter Templates for free

Resume and Cover letter Templates for free

July 25, 2022
How is Technology Changing Our Definition of What It Means to Be a Human?

How is Technology Changing Our Definition of What It Means to Be a Human?

April 1, 2018
[Fixed] “Outlook Running Slow Windows 10” Issue

[Fixed] “Outlook Running Slow Windows 10” Issue

February 12, 2020
Tesla Cybertruck Mass Production Won’t Start Until 2024

Tesla Cybertruck Mass Production Won’t Start Until 2024

January 27, 2023
Apple Reportedly Delays Development Of Its Own WiFi Chips

Apple Reportedly Delays Development Of Its Own WiFi Chips

January 27, 2023
Google Commits To Complying With EU Laws On Its Services

Google Commits To Complying With EU Laws On Its Services

January 27, 2023
Airtel Launches Its eSIM Technology In Nigeria

Airtel Launches Its eSIM Technology In Nigeria

January 27, 2023
In Spite Of The Sucess Of Genetically Modified Foods, Debates Abound

In Spite Of The Sucess Of Genetically Modified Foods, Debates Abound

January 27, 2023
How And How Not Gaming Can Be Used In Solving Real Problems

How And How Not Gaming Can Be Used In Solving Real Problems

January 27, 2023

Recent News

Tesla Cybertruck Mass Production Won’t Start Until 2024

Tesla Cybertruck Mass Production Won’t Start Until 2024

January 27, 2023
Apple Reportedly Delays Development Of Its Own WiFi Chips

Apple Reportedly Delays Development Of Its Own WiFi Chips

January 27, 2023
Google Commits To Complying With EU Laws On Its Services

Google Commits To Complying With EU Laws On Its Services

January 27, 2023
Airtel Launches Its eSIM Technology In Nigeria

Airtel Launches Its eSIM Technology In Nigeria

January 27, 2023
In Spite Of The Sucess Of Genetically Modified Foods, Debates Abound

In Spite Of The Sucess Of Genetically Modified Foods, Debates Abound

January 27, 2023
How And How Not Gaming Can Be Used In Solving Real Problems

How And How Not Gaming Can Be Used In Solving Real Problems

January 27, 2023
  • About TechBooky
  • Submit Article
  • Advertise Here
  • Contact us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • Login

© 2021 Design By Tech Booky Elite

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
  • Home
  • Africa
  • Business
  • Video
  • Metaverse
  • AI
  • Gadgets
  • Earnings
  • Tips

© 2021 Design By Tech Booky Elite