Ask HN: Can I get two phone numbers on a single phone? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Can I get two phone numbers on a single phone?

2 pointsjononomo6 comments

I would like a cellphone that has two SIM cards so that I can have one phone number for all my friends and family and a second phone number for all my online accounts and 2FA stuff and anything impersonal that is likely to result in getting spam texts and phone calls down the line.

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The term you're looking for is "dual-sim phone". That'll give you a jumping off point to look for a phone that suits your needs with regards to pricing and specs.

But yes, works like you're describing.

> second phone number for all my online accounts and 2FA stuff and anything impersonal that is likely to result in getting spam texts and phone calls down the line.

Unfortunately, that will not stop spam texts nor spam calls to the "friends and family" number.

The reason why is that while a subset of phone spammers target specific numbers, a huge majority simply "dial all numbers". I.e., if they are spamming texting a "car warranty expiring" text, they will simply send the same text to all numbers within a given exchange. If they happen to be targeting 202-555-xxxx they will simply send a text to every number 0000 through 9999, because it costs almost nothing to do so. The same goes with the robo-dialing boiler rooms, the computer driving the operation will simply dial every number 0000 through 9999 on a given exchange, and any that actually get picked up get the 'robo recording', and the very few who "press 7 for more info" then get connected to a human who then tries to extract whatever it is they are really after.

Wouldn't you have a whitelist of friends and family and block everything else?

The fucked up thing is, this kind of thing was a triviality with old-fashioned landline POTS phones. You just call up your telephone company and order "Distinctive Ring"[1] service and Bob's yer uncle. Now, with cell-phones this is a byzantine nightmare requiring multiple SIM cards and only works with certain phones, isn't necessarily available from all carriers, etc., etc.

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distinctive_ring

GSM did support multiple numbers for a single SIM via ALS (Alternate Line Service), but at least in the UK it seems to no longer be offered by the operators. Orange marketed it under the "Line Two" brand.

There are services like https://www.onoff.app/en/ (which I have personally used in the past)

It's pretty cheap and easy to use.

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