Privacy risk grows as cellphones trump landlines

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Reliance on cellphones may be creating a long-term privacy issue, federal officials warn.

Nearly half of American homes are landline-free, leading many to give out their cellphone number to companies who may sell it to third-party vendors.

Whereas landlines change if you move and are associated with everyone in a household, cell numbers may stay with a single person for life.

“And what that means is that the number will be linked to the individual and can be sort of an identifier to tell people how to link other information to that individual,” Federal Trade Commission official Robert Schoshinski said.

That information can be used for marketing or even sold again to others interested in it.

 

“Once you’ve linked a cellphone number to an individual’s name or profile, you can link all sorts of other information that a data broker may have. For instance, online browsing habits, online shopping habits, in-person shopping habits at stores, such as grocery stores,” Schoshinski said.

For many, even people who still have landlines, their cell is their number of choice. That’s the case with well-known finance expert Erica Sandberg.

“The reason I do use it as my primary number is because it’s the one I always have with me,” Sandberg said.

One possible solution: apps such as Sideline, Line2 and BusinessCall that allow you to add a second number right onto your cell to help you separate your personal number from various types of businesses.

Sandberg likes that idea. “I love the idea of having a secondary phone number on your cellphone that is only used for other people’s business, so that you can conduct this type of commerce separately from your private affairs. I think that’s fantastic.”

She doesn’t currently have a go-to secondary line, so now that she knows the possible link to her information, she’ll think twice before handing over her digits.

“I’m going to make that decision based on my needs, based on whether or not I feel secure,” Sandberg said.