Pre-paid Phones and Privacy

I don't have any experience using pre-paid phones.

I would like to find out if the number assigned to a pre-paid phone has to be registered somewhere? Does a pre-paid phone have more privacy protection than a regular cell phone? With all these websites like peoplefind, etc., anyone can get your personal information by just typing in your phone number. Do pre-paid phones prevent this from happening?

Comments for Pre-paid Phones and Privacy

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Jun 24, 2020
 Spoofing NEW
by: PrepaidWirelessGuy

That's a great point. Most smartphones now allow you to block numbers so they no longer ring thru. I use that feature constantly. However, they spoof from so many different numbers that it's hard to completely eliminate them.

It's still worth blocking numbers when you can, but it's certainly not fool proof.
Jun 20, 2020
 Do Not Call Register is considerably less than 100% NEW
by: Anonymous

Putting your phone numbers on the Do No Call Registry only works if the telemarketer is IN THE UNITED STATES. The registry has no jurisdiction to take any action against telemarketers in India, Bahamas, Nigeria, etc. I had a telemarketer laugh at me when I told him that the number he called was on the do not call registry. Laughing, he said, "I'm not in the United States, and I am untraceable. You see that I spoofed the caller ID to show a number in your area code."
May 17, 2010
 Are Prepaid Phones More Private?
by: PrepaidWirelessGuy

The answer to your question is Yes...and No...Let me explain ;-). Prepaid phones offer more privacy because most prepaid providers don't require you to provide a name and address, or any other personal information. Some to require that some of this information be supplied at the time of account activation, however, they don't validate/require that any of the information actually be correct. You'd be surprised how many Mickey Mouses and Britney Spears there are on file with prepaid carriers! Many operators that do require an address, mostly use it for area code/phone number assignment, do validate that the address is a valid postal address. That said, you don't need to use your address; any valid postal address will suffice.


So in that sense, without your personal name or address on file, and no link to your credit report, prepaid phones inherently offer a greater degree of privacy. So that's the "Yes" part of the answer.


The "No" part of the answer is that in general prepaid phone numbers are treated the same way as any other phone numbers. Meaning that they're in the public domain just as much as any other wireless phone number. The good side of it is that if your phone number is listed somewhere, your other personal information is not attached to it.


The good news is that you can register your number with the National Do Not Call Registry, which means that telemarketers and the like aren't allowed to call you. If they do somehow get a list with your number on it, and they don't properly scrub it against this registry, you can file a complaint, and they can be fined for each violation! Definitely something to consider if you want to ensure your number remains private.


Hope this helps!

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