Babble.ly – A Free Anonymous Phone Number Service

WordPress has made it very easy to “follow” WP hosted blogs, with the inclusion of a “Follow” widget. Occasionally, I’ll take a quick peek at a new follower’s Gravatar profile simply out of curiosity. Far too often, these profiles list a personal telephone number.

Here’s a recent example, with the telephone number blacked out for obvious reasons.

There may be a good reason why this person has chosen to post his telephone number openly on the Internet – but, I can’t think of one that satisfies the most basic of privacy considerations.

It’s not as if there aren’t solutions to freely posting a contact telephone number – without compromising a “real” telephone number – there are. One such solution, and a free solution at that, is offered by Babble.ly.

Rather than focus on the single issue illustrated by the example I’ve laid out above – I’ll rerun last year’s article on Babble.ly. instead. This article provides an overview of how Babble.ly works, and how you might benefit from this free service.

Originally posted January 26, 2011

Privacy is a major issue for most people who use the Internet; particularly those who use web based listing service such as eBay, Craigslist, and online dating services. Not surprisingly, to interact with these services, participants need to provide a contact phone number.

Not all participants feel comfortable in providing their home, business, or cell phone numbers to unknown parties that can conceivably place them at risk. So, how can you address this challenge, if you fit into this category?

Luckily there are a number of free services that offer solutions to this problem. The new kid on the block is babble.ly – currently in Beta. Babble.ly (currently in Beta  provides a connection service, by way of a URL, which you can post – instead of your actual phone number.

Those with access to this unique URL can call you – with Babble.ly acting as an intermediary which effectively protects your real phone number, as well as the phone number of the caller.

In testing, the process went smoothly and the step by step instructions were clear and very easy to follow.

First, I entered my phone number. The number in the following graphic is a “dummy” number. I did, in fact, enter my real number. After which, I pushed the “Create Link” button.

Verifying my number (as per the instructions), prompted a call from the service …….

It was a simple matter to enter the required verification code from my handset.

Finally, I’ve got my link.

Clicking on the link you have provided the recipient (which I did), will open the following self explanatory screen.

In testing, the call completed flawlessly.

Fast facts:

Easy – Get a free disposable link for your phone number. Post it to Facebook, Twitter, forums, dating sites, anywhere you want!

Private – When the link is clicked, babble.ly will connect your call. Your number always remains private. Don’t want to talk now? Reject the call!

Customizable – Keep the link as long as you want. Done with the link? Revoke it. Log in, or call 415-325-2003 for our automated system.

If you’re looking for a free, safe solution, as an alternative to posting your phone number anywhere on the Internet, Babble.ly should appeal to you.

Note: Calls are limited to 10 minutes and, to U.S. and Canadian numbers during the beta.

Connect with Babble.ly – here.

Use Babble.ly Free Anonymous Phone Number For Online Safety

Privacy is a major issue for most people who use the Internet; particularly those who use web based listing service such as eBay, Craigslist, and online dating services. Not surprisingly, to interact with these services, participants need to provide a contact phone number.

Not all participants feel comfortable in providing their home, business, or cell phone numbers to unknown parties that can conceivably place them at risk. So how can you address this challenge, if you fit into this category?

Luckily there are a number of free services that offer solutions to this problem. The new kid on the block is babble.ly – currently in Beta. Babble.ly provides a connection service, by way of a URL, which you can post – instead of your actual phone number.

Those with access to this unique URL can call you – with Babble.ly acting as an intermediary which effectively protects your real phone number, as well as the phone number of the caller.

In testing, the process went smoothly and the step by step instructions were clear and very easy to follow.

First, I entered my phone number. The number in the following graphic is a “dummy” number. I did, in fact, enter my real number. After which, I pushed the “Create Link” button.

Verifying my number (as per the instructions), prompted a call from the service …….

It was a simple matter to enter the required verification code from my handset.

Finally, I’ve got my link.

Clicking on the link you have provided the recipient (which I did), will open the following self explanatory screen.

In testing, the call completed flawlessly.

Fast facts:

Easy – Get a free disposable link for your phone number. Post it to Facebook, Twitter, forums, dating sites, anywhere you want!

Private – When the link is clicked, babble.ly will connect your call. Your number always remains private. Don’t want to talk now? Reject the call!

Customizable – Keep the link as long as you want. Done with the link? Revoke it. Log in, or call 415-325-2003 for our automated system.

If you’re looking for a free, safe solution, as an alternative to posting your phone number anywhere on the Internet, Babble.ly should appeal to you.

Note: Calls are limited to 10 minutes, and to U.S. and Canadian numbers during the beta.

Connect with Babble.ly, here.

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Internet Dating And Extortion – Real Life Mirrors Fiction

This past week, I reread The Brethren, a novel by American author John Grisham, first published in 2000. The novel’s plot centers on a scam in which three incarcerated Judges blackmail wealthy closeted gay men who unwittingly (through letters), provide the rogue Judges, who collectively are posing as a young gay man, with all the information needed to make the blackmail scam a winner.

In case you want to read the book (I highly recommend it – Grisham is a terrific novelist), I won’t spoil it for you by revealing additional story elements, but suffice it to say, that the naiveté of the victims in providing highly personal information, drives the plot forward.

But this is just fiction – a made up story. In “real” life this type of situation, or a  situation similar to it, just wouldn’t happen, right? Ah, but it does – as illustrated in the following news report from a recent edition of the Toronto Star newspaper.

Rather than rely on snail mail, as the fictional characters in the novel do, the Internet is the weapon of choice in the following scam, as you’ll see.

Police say a number of men looking for love on the Internet found extortion instead.

Halton Regional Police allege a man joined a number of adult dating service websites posing as a woman and prospective date for male subscribers. The interested men were then persuaded to provide personal information about themselves.

Police say the information provided by the unsuspecting victims in emails, chats, texts and voice mail messages then formed the basis for extortion. There were threats to publish the information on social networking sites or send it directly to family, friends, or employers unless monetary demands were met.

Kevin Fletcher, 43, of Burlington, Ont., faces eight counts of extortion and one of criminal harassment.

The Internet and its associated tools, including those tools mentioned in the newspaper report – emails, chats, texts and voice mail messages, seems to have affected the victims’ brain functions. Normal personal security precautions appear to have been thrown out the window; including common sense – assuming they had any common sense to begin with!

I have no doubt, that the victims in this case would have benefited from reading Internet Security: There’s an App for That – Your BRAIN!, posted here earlier this year.

There’s a lesson in this sad story – establishing a personal relationship through Internet dating, despite the success stories touted in numerous television commercials, is not without risk. And, should be approached with the same sense of caution and awareness, that one would use in any Internet transaction.

That old truism – “Nobody knows you’re a Dog on the Internet” – takes on special significance when it comes to online dating.

A sampling of common sense Internet dating safety tips from the Wired Safety Website.

Do not believe everything you read online

You can be anything or anyone you want to be online. I keep trying to get people to believe that I am tall, blonde and gorgeous! (So far, no takers…). That cute brunette 24-year-old guy may not be cuter, may not be 24 and most importantly, may not be a guy. There is not truth in advertising protection when you date online.

Do not give out personal information online

Personal information that would let someone find you offline would never be shared online. Your full name, where you work, where you live, your phone number (see my note on giving out your phone number), your fax number…these should not be shared online.

Use an online dating service that uses an anonymizer or re-mailer to mask your real e-mail, or set up a Hotmail or other free account just for dating online. Cyber romance can quickly turn to cyberstalking – it is better to be able to terminate that particular account than to have to set up a new main account, and notify everyone you know.

To read the full list of Internet dating safety tips, visit Wired Safety.org.

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