and an inbox interface with which
to use it. Some, like Temp Mail
and FakeMail will even make your
address look legitimate by using
real sounding names and
domains. Some allow you to both
send and receive emails; some
only receive.
Just use the email address
provided to sign up to the dubious
website or communicate with a
person you don’t trust. The
address will expire, and all emails
will be deleted, either when you
close the tab with the email site,
or according to a timer shown on
the site.
Burnermobilenumbers
Robocalls, scams calls and other
unsolicited calls are a plague, one
that the telecommunications
providers have yet to figure out
how to fix. It has gotten so bad
that people have simply started
blocking all calls from people not
on their contacts list (something
we discussed in the Home
Networking column in the
December issue).
Still, much as with email, you
sometimes need to provide a
mobile phone number in order to
get things done. Commonly, for
example, a site will want to SMS
you a login code. That presents the
risk that your phone number will
make its way to the call lists of
some unscrupulous operators.
Now you could get an actual
second SIM card – which has to be
registered in Australia – and
swap in and out, but there are
easier ways.
For a start, there are a number
of sites that run public burner
SMS services. Much as with the
email sites above, they provide an
SMS number you can give to the
site or individual, and you’ll see
any SMSs sent to that number
appear on the website.
The important distinction here
is that most of
the free
services that
do this offer a
shared mobile
number. That
is, everybody
who visits the
site will see the
name mobile
number and
they will all be
able to see the
SMSs that
come in on that number, so if
you’re expecting private
information to come through
then you shouldn’t use it. Some
examples of these kinds of
sites include:- receiveasms.com
- http://www.temp-phone-number.com
If you want something more
private, or if you want to make
and receive voice calls on a
temporary number, then you will
have to pay for it. It’s probably less
than you would if you were to buy
a second SIM card, however.
There are several companies
that will offer a disposable mobile
phone number, though only a few
such as Hushed (hushed.com) offer
Australian numbers. Hushed offers
plans from a US$2 seven-day plan
that includes 60 SMSs and 20
minutes of talk; to a US$5 per month
plan that includes
unlimited calls
and SMS. Each
number has its
own ‘plan’ so if
you wanted two
extra numbers,
you would pay for
two plans.
To use Hushed,
you just need to
install the app on
your mobile. You
create an account
and tap on ‘get new number’ to
choose your plan. Then you choose a
country and claim a “dummy”
number that you can use for the
period of the plan (and can be
deleted or the lease extended from
the settings menu). Calls are made
from and received within the mobile
app itself, and it will import your
contacts. It uses voice over IP, so it
won’t use you mobile plan’s call
quotas, but it will use your internet
quota. Next month: We continue
with this theme, looking at
anonymous and secure online
payment options.RIGHT:Hushed
looks and works
just like a
common call app- but instead of
using your real
mobile number it
will use a
“burner” number
to make and
receive calls.
FAR RIGHT:
From the Hushed
settings menu
you can extend
the lease on the
burner number,
or you can delete
it and get a new
one.
ReceiveaSMS.
com provides a
shared SMS
number that you
can use.The alternative is to use
a true burner email
address, one that has no
ties to your personal
identity and only exists
for afiniteamount
of time.