Different ID can shield you from scammers – Picture credit score: Surfshark
A number of harm will be performed with an individual’s cellphone quantity, from infinite spam calls to fraud and scams. Surfshark Different Quantity can shield you.
Cellphone numbers could not appear to be a possible assault vector since customers can simply cling up on spam, however it’s not so simple as that. Firms have begun counting on cellphone numbers to confirm id, ship non permanent passwords, and different features of account safety that scammers search to use.
In case you’re utilizing your private cellphone quantity on on-line accounts, it may be trivial for dangerous actors to use it and achieve entry to that account. Whether or not they use SIM swapping, phishing, or different methods, entry to a cellphone quantity can result in information loss, checking account hacks, and id theft.
Fortunately, it is not all doom and gloom. If customers discover themselves in a scenario the place a cellphone quantity is required to create or entry an account, Surfshark has your again.
A characteristic known as Different Quantity can present customers with a decoy cellphone quantity they management to be used on particular web sites or providers. It’s supplied as an add-on to Different ID, which is included in a Surfshark One subscription, which we have detailed right here.
Get Surfshark One for $3.49 per 30 days plus 4 months further when pre-paying for twenty-four months. Different Quantity is accessible as an add-on to current Surfshark One subscribers.
How Different Quantity works
When a person wants to supply a cellphone quantity on-line, they will go to the Surfshark app and generate an Different Quantity. By offering that quantity, the person will nonetheless get calls and texts wanted for working that account, however that cellphone quantity is remoted to that account.
Surfshark Different Quantity retains your private quantity hidden and secure – Picture credit score: Surfshark
So, if scammers, hackers, information brokers, or anybody else will get ahold of that Different Quantity, it might probably’t be used for something past the accounts it’s related to. The person’s precise cellphone quantity stays obfuscated and free from scammers, spam, and different undesirable nonsense.
The generated cellphone quantity is just obtainable as a United States quantity. It additionally cannot be used to obtain 2FA verification codes.
Use Different Quantity if you need to create an account on an internet site you do not belief totally. That means, even when the web site loses or sells your information, you are shielded from scammers.
One of the crucial easy assault vectors a scammer would possibly implement is making an attempt to phish private or monetary info from a person. By making undesirable calls and claiming to know features of the person’s private info, they could be capable to get hold of extra essential info utilized in id theft.
Utilizing Different Quantity with the Surfshark ecosystem
Different Quantity is part of Surfshark One’s Different ID. Through the use of these providers, the person can reduce their on-line digital footprint and hold private info out of the palms of potential scammers.
Do not keep away from web sites simply since you do not need to share your private quantity – Picture credit score: Surfshark
Hold your identify, handle, cellphone quantity, e mail handle, and ID hidden from potential dangerous actors whereas nonetheless signing up for an account. Different ID lets customers handle all of those items of knowledge so their actual data stays secure and hidden.
One other side of Surfshark One is Surfshark Alerts. If a person is alerted to an information breach that features an Different Quantity, the person can simply change to a unique quantity for that account and hold management out of the scammer’s palms.
By combining all of those options and Surfshark VPN, Antivirus, and Search, a person can hold all of their information and units secure. Surfshark’s providers are top-notch, with AppleInsider ranking the Surfshark VPN the most effective VPN for iPhone and prime Mac VPN in 2025.
Tips on how to get Different Quantity
Different Quantity is accessible with Surfshark Starter, One and One+ packages. A Surfshark One subscription is filled with instruments that may provide help to reduce your digital footprint on-line and hold scammers away.
Get Surfshark One for $3.99 per 30 days plus 4 months further when pre-paying for twenty-four months. That is a $559.72 worth for $111.72.
