- Prevent illegal access to their phone records
A large number of people might want your phone records for illegal uses. For instance, identity thieves, who look for opportunities to steal personal information (such as a social security number) that enables them to open credit accounts, buy cars, set up phone and other services, and commit crimes using someone else’ s identity, and data brokers, who gather data on people with the purpose of selling it to anyone willing to pay for it. In order to prevent such illegal use of your phone calls, a private number is a must.
How do I make a number private when calling another number?
- Use a temporary / disposable number
Here’s how things can work out very easy and fast for you! Great apps like ConXhub enables you to make private phone calls without records on phone bill and get connected with high quality calls and connectivity, even allow you to protect call pick-up by passwords. A disposable phone number is a virtual phone number that is usable temporarily. The temporary number is purchased from a service provider. Calls to that number are forwarded to the user’s existing phone. This is usually accomplished through a smartphone app or through an online call forwarding service. The number is usually functional until a specified date, although the customer has the option of disabling it earlier.
People use disposable phone numbers for situations in which they don’t want to give out their permanent numbers. For example, a disposable number allows a seller on Craigslist to stop service to a phone number once the item that was advertised has been purchased. For online dating and other situations in which people are contacting strangers, disposable numbers can help maintain mobile privacy and security.
- Use a block code for individual calls
A block code can be used to make calls from your number appear to others as an “unknown user” or “blocked caller”. In the UK, dialing 141 as a prefix to a number will conceal your phone number from the recipient. This is a free service but can only be used for outgoing calls to businesses and individuals. It will not work for toll-free numbers or emergency services. It is also important to note that if the recipient has unmasking technology on their smartphone, they may still be able to view your number.
- Set up a Permanent Block
Dialing *69 is a useful solution for hiding a phone number temporarily for individual calls, but to permanently conceal a phone number, your best option is to contact your phone service provider to set up a permanent block. Businesses should carefully consider this option, however, as once your number is blocked, it will never appear, regardless of the recipient. That said, if you do opt to permanently block your number, there is a temporary solution: dial *82 before inputting your chosen number to unblock it for that call only.
- Get a Virtual Phone Number
A virtual phone number is not tied to a particular device; calls can be directed wherever you choose. The virtual number is not hidden but personal information, such as your location and personal phone number, remain private. Callers dial the virtual number and are diverted to any number of the service user’s (in this case, your business) choice, which could be a personal cell phone. Equally, when you make outbound calls, these will appear to be coming from the virtual number, even if you make the call on your private cell. When you have more than one number affiliated to your phone, you can make a call from your phone but display a different caller id on the phone of the person you are calling…ie. Not YOUR actual personal/private number.
Customize the Caller ID Setting
Most smartphones, whether iPhone or Android, will have caller ID settings that you can adapt to meet individual needs. It’s easy to turn caller ID off and on as required, but not all carriers support this. If it’s important to protect your privacy on a particular call, make sure this feature is available before dialing.
Add a second line to your mobile phone
It’s easy to add a second line to a mobile / cell phone, and it’s a great way to protect your personal number. While this option does not conceal your phone number in the same way as dialling “*69” or switching off caller ID does, it allows you to make calls from the most appropriate number. You can make business calls from your business number and revert to your personal number for non-work calls, and you can even keep your personal cell number private when you choose.
There are actually quite a few apps available that will allow you to display a different number than your own.
ConXhub pioneered Mobile Multi-Numbering, and since then other companies have tried to latch on to the growing trend. Here are a few you could look at:
Hushed
Burner
addaline
Spiko
Swytch
Vyke
Sideline
The service provider you choose, will depend on whether it is for personal use or business, temporary or permanent and whether call quality is important, or you would like additional numbers or call switchboard services.
Sign up to an unlisted number list…
Unlisted number lists are not just for landlines; cell phone numbers can be added too. The first port of call is your service provider. Request to be “unpublished” and “unlisted”. Next, sign up for the National Do Not Call Registry. This will not guarantee protection from unwanted calls, but it will give you greater control over the calls you receive.>
Despite the advanced technologies available today that allow us to identify numbers as quickly as conducting a Google search, it is possible to keep your phone number private. When doing so, it’s important to consider the reasons you want to protect your number — there are many advantages for businesses sharing their number, especially if it’s in your customer’s local area or is a recognizable vanity number — as knowing this will lead you to the most appropriate method of privacy protection for you.
ConXhub is the ultimate Caller ID app for mobile phones – You can make and receive calls or messages from any phone number, you can add and utilise as many numbers as you like (one client currently has a staggering 18,000 numbers on their mobiles), and this is a non-VoIP service, so you don’t have to scurry around looking for a decent internet connection.
As for extra features, there are quite a few which you may or may not require depending on your needs:
sms2email
Every PBX/switchboard feature you can think of
activeQ
activeAgent
Gamified Call Answering
ACD call flow
MFID II call recording
Analyses & stats
How to call from one number and it shows another?
It is pretty easy nowadays, here are a few options
SIM’s can physically and technically have 2 numbers – not many operators offer the service, but some do so ask just in case. Dual SIM is an alternative – you’ll need a Dual SIM Phone and then an additional contract but you’ll get two numbers on one phone.
You could also use a VoIP service and set up a soft-phone on your mobile which will give you the option of setting the caller id, or you could use one of the VoIP calling apps which again will let you change the caller id.
…Or you could use an alternate number service.
One of the best suppliers of alternative numbers is ConXhub… here you can rent any phone number from over 9000+ cities and make & receive calls from your chosen number keeping your actual phone number 100% private.
ConXhub pioneered Mobile Multi-numbering & has a multitude of affordable services to suit customer needs.
You could use a VoIP service and set up a soft-phone on your mobile which will give you the option of setting the caller id, or you could use one of the VoIP calling apps which again will let you change the caller id.
As an alternative you could use an alternate number service.
An amazing aspect of having more than your personal number is that you can add as many numbers as you require, choose a designated number to for whatever reason and all calls go over the mobile cellular network meaning that they don´t eat into your data plan or have you rushing around trying to find a decent WiFi connection.
Besides making your personal number private and separate from verification and registration procedures, other benefits from having a second number on your phone are:
- You can strike a better work-life balance
- A number dedicated to solely your business is professional
- You can screen your calls giving you the option which calls to take and when
- More lines/numbers can be added as and when you need them…no limit!
There are many telecom companies who can provide you with an alternate number service and one of the best suppliers is ConXhub. From them you can rent any phone number from over 9000+ cities around the world and make receive calls from your chosen number keeping your actual phone number 100% private. ConXhub pioneered Mobile Multi-numbering and has a multitude of affordable services to suit customer needs. As mentioned previously, following in their footsteps there are now quite a few apps available that will allow you to display a different number than your own.
The best option of buying a disposable number is through a service provider. You will be relieved to know that such numbers are available at affordable rates, therefore it will not cause a serious dent in your pocket. The provider simply forwards the call to your existing number via online or smartphone services. Your permanent number will not be disclosed to the person you are calling and after the completion of the call, your number is blocked and hence of no use.
There are numerous websites that offer disposable numbers to interested parties. The temporary number allows the user to make voice calls and send text messages easily. Your permanent number is kept aside and is safe and secure from any kind of intrusion. Some of the sites are free, whereas others have levied some kind of a fee. Such numbers easily bypass OTP verification and mobile number on any app or site. You can also create several social accounts, for instance, WhatsApp account with this virtual number.
A business line or number allows you to have freephone and local area code numbers on the same cell phone. All separate work independently. You can have all your business numbers and lines forwarded to the same phone or each forwarded to a different phone. You can of course add, change or delete your business lines at any time through your app or directly with the provider. Stop receiving unwanted calls as numbers can easily be blocked – very handy for those annoying telemarketing calls.
Overall…Keeping your work and personal life separate can be difficult when you are running a small business. As you are usually the point of contact for all issues and queries, your phone can be ringing at all hours. With an additional business line on your mobile, it is very easy to separate your work and personal calls by adding a business line to your personal cell or smart phone. Modern cell phones can easily accommodate multiple phone numbers with or without an additional SIM.
When you make your number private, the person you are calling won’t see your real number. In our day to day lives, we are often required to make calls to companies, family and friends and for either personal or work related purposes. For most of us, revealing our phone numbers to unknown people has caused several incidents of threat and malicious activity. So, by making your mobile number private, you can avoid all potential problems and improve your personal cybersecurity.
