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Do you give out a fake telephone number?
@beautyqueen26 (16030)
United States
August 19, 2007 4:58pm CST
Whenever I am applying for some type of loan or other important credit related event, I try to enter a truthful telephone number just in case the company needs to contact me about questions. However, there are times when I doubt the need for an accurate telephone number.
For instance, today I was filling out a form to join a free membership site where you read articles and such and they asked for a lot of personal information including telephone number and address. Personally, I was not comfortable giving out all that type of personal info just to be able to read a few news stories on an occasional basis. With that being said, I did enter all my info and was accepted right away. Thinking about it later, I wished that I had entered a fake telephone number.
Then I started thinking, there must be other times when you'd want to give out a fake telephone number. Like when a guy keeps asking you for your telephone number while you're at a club and you don't really want him to call. I guess that could happen.
So, do you always use your correct phone number when applying for online memberships or other sites online? Do you think it should be necessary to give out that much information about yourself?
2 people like this
15 responses
@peanutjar (5198)
• Canada
19 Aug 07
Yes,i always give out my real number,but in some cases where im filling out a membership like you mentioned i dont give it.I give a fake one.They already have my e-mail address anyway,so if they want to contact me they can send me an e-mail.Plus if i answer the phone and can tell its going to be something im not interested in participating in,i say "shes not here/im dont have time".I dont like to give out TOO much information,because sometimes it comes back to bite you on the butt!.By the way,i forgot to wish you a good day!''
1 person likes this
@beautyqueen26 (16030)
• United States
20 Aug 07
Very clever indeed! I would not have thought about the telemarketers. But, sometimes I do give out my old extinct telephone number, which is still valid, but just not mine. It's not too dishonest, though I do feel guilty when I do it. Of course I justify it somehow and still keep going! Good day to you as well!
@jiffys_frog_woman (4050)
• United States
24 Aug 07
i have a message number thre private phone that i use if i dont want people calling me at home
@iinvention (646)
• India
20 Aug 07
I dont give any fake telephone number to anyone. I will give my real telephone number so that they can call me and speak to me. I just don't want to give the number to everyone. I will give it only to my friends, relatives and colleagues.
@KrisNY (7590)
• United States
24 Aug 07
LOL—reminds me of my younger days – when we would give out fake numbers- Well still to this day I do from time to time- Like when cashing out at a store and they ask for your phone #- so they can send you coupons or spam mail- I give my friends and she always gives mine- I never noticed it at first- they are pretty close in number- only 1 digit is different- One time we were shopping together- and she gave mine- I was like “real loud”—OMG that is my phone # not yours- she said in front of the cashier- I know – I always give yours! I also give the wrong # when filling out forms online- for freebies, contests, etc.—I don’t want them calling me- so I use a made up number-
@youless (112113)
• Guangzhou, China
24 Aug 07
No, I have never given out a fake telephone number. Actually I have two telephone numbers at all. So if I don't want others to bother me, then I will give the number which is for the fax machine:)
@cheesytola (42)
•
20 Aug 07
If its for something unimportant I always give my landline number which is an active number.
The good thing about this is that I dont have a telephone, I only have a landline for the internet, so I dont ever get any of these calls!
@sensemygene (1)
• India
20 Aug 07
Fake telephone numbers can be given for the unknown people whom yo really dont want to keep any contact or the ones who aren't necessary to keep contact with. like when a postman delivers a courier to ur place and that time when he asked for ur telephone number, giving a fake number is perfectly fine n there is no harm in that.. and of course when meeting unknown friends online, giving a fake telephone number is well and good at the initial stages and might be in the future, one can show their truthfullness if the relationship gets better.
@carlaabt (3504)
• United States
20 Aug 07
I don't give my real number out very often when I'm filling stuff out online. A lot of things won't let me, though, because they say it isn't valid with my address. We have a Vonage phone number that is from Fargo. We live about 4.5 hours away, but Fargo is the only place in ND that has local Vonage numbers. So everything says that we are out of bounds or whatever. I just got used to putting in my old number when I was still on base. I haven't filled anything out here yet. I don't know what number I will use now. I don't even know what the prefix is here! lol
@slavezero (833)
• Philippines
20 Aug 07
No I dont. I feel no harm of giving my phone number.Maybe girls should be careful with this but not boys like me.
@wondericequeen (7876)
• Hong Kong
20 Aug 07
I mostly give out my real phone number (if it's private call, I never pick up anyway, so that's not a problem for me!). But I do give out fake phone numbers from time to time in situations like:
1. The street surveys. I would finish the survey with a fake number because I know they are going to call and try to sell some stuff to you over the phone later. They are not really surveys after all.
2. In a pub. If someone asks me for a phone number when I go clubbing, then I would definitely give him the fake number *laughs*.
@ayseteyze (214)
• Turkey
20 Aug 07
..and there's another thing. when i give my phone number like banks or insurance agencies, if i later decide not to buy it, i say that it is the wrong number when they call me.
@ayseteyze (214)
• Turkey
20 Aug 07
one time, we were at a bar with friends. there was this boy looking at me all the time and he was kinda cute actually. he played the oldest trick on me, when i was going to the toilet he asked if i could give my phone number to him. i said of course and gave the number. the next day my friend called me to say that a boy called him and asked for a girl with my name. she was surprised and told him that he called the wrong number. then when she told me this, i said that i gave her number to him. because i wasn't sure if i wanted to see him again or not. i thought this could be a good idea, if i don't want to see him that's ok he thinks that i gave the wrong number. and if i want to see him, well, my friend has his number.
@ranitam22 (1146)
• United States
20 Aug 07
It depends what it is, if i'm signing up for something and if i put my phone number down i will be getting calls from all type of telemarketers, then I won't. I have enough trouble with people I don't want to talk to calling, I don't need extra people bugging me for no reason. The only time I put my real number down is if it is necessary for them to call me (once) and not give it out to other companies.
@pinnibabu (135)
•
20 Aug 07
When the matter is genuine and to my concern, I dont mind giving all my details to the person. But there are a few places like people standing outside departmental store coaxing you to apply for credit cards etc; this is when I avoid giving details. And in case they really piss you off, then I give fake telephone numbers.
@craftcatcher (3699)
• United States
19 Aug 07
Unless it's an absolute necessity I never give out correct information. If I'm signing up for something just for fun, I don't even use my real name. I also have a catch-all e-mail address that I use often. It gets all the spam and useless garbage that I just delete anyway.
