{"id":886256,"date":"2025-01-13T09:15:09","date_gmt":"2025-01-13T17:15:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cultofmac.com\/?p=886256"},"modified":"2025-03-01T02:54:02","modified_gmt":"2025-03-01T10:54:02","slug":"alternative-phone-number","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cultofmac.com\/news\/alternative-phone-number","title":{"rendered":"How to stop spam and scam calls with Surfshark’s Alternative Number"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0In an online world filled with identity thieves, robocallers, \u201csmishers\u201d (SMS phishing scammers), and all sorts of marketers hassling you for your personal information whenever you sign up for anything, wouldn\u2019t it be great if you could protect your personal information by becoming someone else with a different phone number? With Surfshark\u2019s Alternative ID service, you can now access a new Alternative Number feature that does just that. If you’re looking for the best<\/span> Surfshark VPN deals<\/b><\/a>,<\/b> you can take advantage of great offers while enhancing your online privacy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Alternative Number is incredibly easy to use — and highly effective at keeping your real phone number safe from spammers and scammers. All you need to do is sign up for a Surfshark bundle that includes Alternative Number. You can pay monthly, but Surfshark also offers 24-month plans that give you four extra months of service for free.<\/p>\n

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How an alternative phone number shields you from spam calls and texts<\/h2>\n
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SPONSORED<\/div>\n
This post is brought to you by Surfshark.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Pretty much anyone roaming the internet has probably wished they could have a different identity sometimes, like when signing up on a potentially sketchy website. Using Surfshark’s Alternative Number and Alternative Identity shields you from spammers. A different email, name, address and phone number — especially a phone number, to handle all text messages and voice calls on iPhones<\/a> or other handsets — can deflect a lot of tracking aimed at getting your personal information for annoying marketing purposes, or worse, for identity theft.<\/p>\n

Understand the threats<\/h3>\n

And speaking of identity theft and scams, those threats are undoubtedly real. In 2023, phone calls were the second most common way scammers contacted people in the United States. And in 2022, Americans lost about $39.5 billion as victims of “vishing” (aka voice phishing, when a scammer poses over the phone as a reputable company). Worse, phone numbers are often used in account recovery, whether by you or by a thief with your number.<\/p>\n

How do scammers and ID thieves get sensitive information like your phone number? Any way they can. That can include the above-mentioned vishing as well as phishing (fake emails) and smishing (fake texts). And then there are the data breaches that hit all sorts of companies, from your bank to your favorite social media site.<\/p>\n

It’s easy to avoid all that with Surfshark’s new Alternative Number<\/a> service. It can be part of any Surfshark plan that keeps you secure online.<\/p>\n

Benefits of an Alternative Number and Alternative ID<\/h3>\n
\"Surfshark<\/a>
Keep spammers and robocallers at bay by signing up for a Surfshark bundle with Alternative Number and Alternative ID.
Photo: Surfshark<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Unless you were born yesterday, you’ve probably signed up for various websites and services online, just trying to get a deal or some information. And maybe you even knew the risks. Are they going to bury me in sales and marketing come-ons? Are they going to sell my information far and wide? Is this even safe?<\/p>\n

These days, it seems like everybody<\/em> wants your phone number and email address. Well, with Surfshark’s Alternative Number and Alternative ID, you don’t need to risk your personal information falling into the wrong hands — or anyone’s<\/em> hands — ever.<\/p>\n

When shopping online, you may have noticed how retailers often ask for your phone number or email to send you the best deals or other marketing information. But those text messages and emails can get spammy fast. And it’s not always easy to stop them, because the sender already has your phone number and email address stored in a database.<\/p>\n

Cut spam and protect against ID theft<\/h3>\n

With Surfshark’s Alternative Number and Alternative ID, you gain the power to cut all spam. Simply give potential spammers your Alternative Number and\/or Alternative Email instead of your usual one. And then if you notice spam coming in, simply delete the alternative ones via Surfshark’s dashboard. This helps you eliminate irritating robocalls and phishing emails, thus keeping you more secure (and less annoyed) in the long run.<\/p>\n

More importantly, Alternative Number and Alternative ID protect your personal data. Many websites require you to enter your name, email, phone number and more just so you can use services or view content. And in some cases, your info could be displayed to anyone visiting your profile on the site. However, this kind of information is very sensitive and vulnerable to theft — even when it’s not<\/em> displayed — due to increasingly common database leaks.<\/p>\n

By using Surfshark’s Alternative Number and Alternative ID, which takes just a few clicks on your part, you can keep your true personal information safe and sound.<\/p>\n

Surfshark’s Alternative Number and Alternative ID are easy to use<\/h3>\n
<\/a>
Surfshark’s Alternative Number feature protects your real<\/em> phone number.
Photo: Surfshark<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Surfshark’s Alternative ID with an alternative email address is great, but to truly shield your identity, you need an Alternative Number as well. It’s the only way to protect against robocallers and smishers (phishers using SMS messaging to try to get you to give up information).<\/p>\n

So how easy is it to use Surfshark VPN’s Alternative Number and Alternative ID? This easy:<\/p>\n

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  1. Visit the Surfshark website and choose a bundle with Alternative Number<\/a>.<\/li>\n
  2. Pay for your Surfshark plan, then receive your Alternative Number (and included Alternative ID).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    You can immediately start using your new Alternative Number in the Surfshark mobile app (available in the App Store<\/a> and Google Play<\/a>). In addition, you can use your Alternative ID on every platform via your Surfshark dashboard or related applications. That includes all major browsers via extension, including Chrome, Firefox and Edge, or Safari via the Surfshark app for macOS<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    Watch Surfshark’s video: Introducing Alternative Number and\u00a0Alternative ID<\/h3>\n