What information can someone get from phone number?

Table of Content

• Ways through which your telephone number can leak your personal data and how to avoid it.
• Some Personal information that can be gotten through your phone number.
• What will i do if my Personal data is leaked online?

Have you ever asked your self this question: What information can someone get from phone number? Your Phone number can leak your personal information. It’s easier than you might think. Often, hackers will find the cell phone number of their target floating around the internet (or from a phone bill in the garbage), and call up their carrier impersonating the customer. With a few simple questions answered — often little more than where a person lives or their date of birth, they ask the customer service representative to “port out” the phone number to a different carrier or a SIM card. That’s it. As soon as the “port out” completes, the cellphone number activates on an attacker’s SIM card, and the hacker can send and receive messages and make calls as if they were the person they just hacked. Earlier in the year, EasyJet announced that the personal information of millions of customers was exposed in a data breach. The hacked information included full names, email addresses and travel data. The credit card details of over 2,200 people were also accessed. With millions of people using Zoom during the pandemic, hackers capitalised on the situation by putting more than 500,000 Zoom account login details up for sale. More recently, through phone numbers, the personal information of over 235 million users of TikTok, Instagram and YouTube were exposed in a database leak. The exposed information contained full names and contact information. Before we answer the question: what information can someone get from phone number? let us look at:

Ways through which your telephone number can leak your personal data and how to avoid it.

• Through Websites
• Through Apps
• Through social media
• through text

Websites

In a lot of cases, giving a website your contact number makes perfect sense. For example, food delivery apps like Grubhub or the Papa John’s app and website ask for your phone number. They need it in case they show up to your residence to deliver your food and nobody is answering the door. At this point, you might be thinking, “Instagram and Twitter don’t deliver me food, so why do they need my number?” Well, they use it for a legitimate reason as well. For one, it makes logging in a whole lot easier. Be honest, are you more likely to remember your own cellphone number or the random username you created for a website? Also, many websites and apps require a cellphone number to make sure that you’re an actual person and not a bot. However, you should start thinking twice before you give a person, app, or a website your cellphone number. You should also consider upping your game when it comes to your online security. Make better passwords, and use two-factor verification whenever possible.

Apps

Can you really trust the apps on your phone? Researchers discovered that over 1,000 apps that "bent the rules" have horned in on your privacy, even when you told them not to. These apps that gathered precise geolocation data and phone identifiers without the owners' knowledge. Pretty creepy stuff, especially considering all the private and personal stuff you have on your phone -- names, dates, password and credit card information, the location of everywhere you go. Photos of the people in your life. Unfortunately, there's no way to tell at face value if an app is tracking you, even when you say stop, and no protection is foolproof in today's world of ever-evolving technology. An app that behaves well today could turn into a bad actor tomorrow if the company behind the app is sold, changes its direction or winds up compromised because of a flaw. so then what will you?

• Use a password manager

The strongest passwords are random strings of characters. A series of letters, numbers and symbols in no particular order is less likely to be found in the dictionary and harder for a computer to crack with brute force. The downside is that these complex passwords are much harder to remember. secondly,

• Be mindful of app permissions

One tip that almost all of the experts mentioned was double checking which permissions the app asks for. You should also ask yourself whether it makes sense for an app to ask for certain permissions. An app asking for access to data that isn't relevant to its function is a major warning sign.

Social media

Facebook's Cambridge Analytica data scandal put the popular social network in hot water. But even people who've freed themselves of Facebook's siren call after the fallout (or never created a profile in the first place) might still be at risk for privacy invasion. If you appear on a friend or family member's account, you're still visible online. After those accounts are observed, companies can construct a "shadow profile" that details a person's likes, dislikes, political leanings, religious beliefs and more. It's wise to limit the amount of information you share on social media, most especially your telephone number, regardless of what the site asks for on your profile. The more information you share, the more data that's available to create advertisements for you. Only fill out the absolute minimum amount of information necessary. The more information is at risk in the event of a data breach.

Text

SS7 global phone network vulnerability A communication protocol for mobile networks across the world, Signaling System No 7 (SS7), has a vulnerability that lets hackers spy on text messages, phone calls and locations, armed only with someone's mobile phone number.

Some personal information that can be gotten through your phone number.

• Full name.
• Birthday.
• Home address.
• Size of home in feet.
• Cost of property and other taxes.
• Full names of family members.
• Past phone numbers including ones associated with parents
• Info on other owned property.
• Account information.
• Credit card information
• Criminal record or lack thereof
etc..

What will I do if my personal data is leaked online?

1. Strengthen your online security

If your personal information has been compromised, you should change your login information and passwords immediately. This is especially important if you use the same details for different accounts. We strongly advise that you use a unique password for each account and there are plenty of free password managers to help you keep track of them. In addition, initiate multi-factor authentication across your accounts. This will give you an extra layer of protection if someone is trying to access your account. Lastly, look out for notices of new password changes. It may be an indication that your account has been compromised.

1. Make sure you document everything

When you first find out that your personal information has been shared online, your instinct isn't to act logically. It's normal to panic, freak out and respond emotionally.But it's exactly at this moment that you need to try to be as strategic and focused as possible. In a best-case scenario, reporting the offending posts should lead to them being taken down. Unfortunately, that's not what always happens. Or, in some cases, even if the information comes down, it might be posted again. That's why it's important to document everything. What was posted, where it was posted, when it was posted and who it was posted by? Screenshot everything you can. This might be helpful if you need to get legal advice or report something to the police.

1. Contact relevant authorities

If the data breach relates to your financial information or bank details, notify your bank immediately and place them on alert for fraudulent activities. Cancel your card if necessary and change your PIN number. Also, monitor your account for unusual transactions. Scammers often start off with small transactions then increase if there has been no detection. In addition, register with the CIAS (fraud prevention service). This service can slow down any credit card applications since scammers often try and set up credit cards and mobile phone contracts in the victim’s name. One of the benefits of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the enhanced powers it has given consumers over their data. If your information has been compromised in a data breach, you can take your concerns to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Although the ICO cannot give compensation, they are able to investigate the company. If found liable for the breach, this can help you if you are pursuing a compensation claim. The ICO launched an investigation into Curry’s PC World and Dixons Travel following complaints from customers. As a result, the company was fined £500,000 for the data breach. Kazient Privacy Experts offer bespoke Data Protection, Privacy and GDPR compliance solutions in a language you understand to UK and international organisations, and has received positive media coverage across Europe. Kazient’s GDPR consultants are fully certified to be your outsourced Data Protection Officer or EU Representative.