You're sharing your cell phone number too frequently

No matter what Americans do to protect their digital privacy, especially on our handheld devices, it’s impossible to keep up with new threats. Now, there’s a new risk to our privacy and security: Our cell phone numbers are being used increasingly by information brokers as the window to personal information that’s kept by nearly all corporations, financial institutions, and, yes, social media networks.

Among those sounding the alarm bell is private investigator and former FBI agent Thomas Martin, who recently wrote an article titled, “Your cell phone number is your new Social Security number.” Martin’s message was clear: We are way too lackadaisical about keeping our numbers private. “If someone you had just met asked you for your social security number, you would likely not give it to them. What if the same person asked you for your cell phone number? My guess is that you would readily tell them the ten-digit number,” he writes. Well, too many of us are likely to divulge our ten-digit number in a flash, as millions of us do in stores and online on a daily basis. Your cell phone number, unique to you, is the gateway to your identity. It provides an entrance to all the data contained on your phone, and can connect your other information to you – your email address, physical address—everything.