Selling online? Stop giving buyers your personal number

Selling a bike, renting out a flat, clearing the garage before a move — marketplaces and classifieds make it easy. But almost every listing asks for the same thing: a phone number buyers can call or text. And once your personal number is on a public page, you lose control of who has it.

Here's why your phone number is the weak spot when you sell online, the scams that target it, and how a second number keeps you safe.

Why your number is the weak spot

• It stays public. Listings stay online for weeks, get copied by aggregator sites and can be scraped by anyone.
• It reveals more than you think. Messaging apps can show your name and profile photo to anyone who has your number.
• It's permanent. You can delete a listing; you can't easily change the number your bank, family and friends use.
• It's a key. Your number is often used to recover your accounts — which is exactly what scammers are after.

The scams that target sellers

1. The “verification code” scam

A “buyer” says they want to make sure you're a real person and asks you to send them a code you've just received by text. In reality, they've requested a login or password reset on one of your accounts — often your messaging app or your marketplace account — and the code is the last thing they need to take it over.

2. Fake payment links

The buyer says they've paid and sends you a link “to receive the money”. The page looks like your marketplace or a delivery service, and asks for your card details. Marketplaces don't pay sellers through links sent by text or messaging apps.

3. Overpayment and courier stories

A buyer who can't meet, offers more than your asking price, or wants to send a courier and asks you to cover the “shipping fee” is following a classic script. The payment never arrives — or is reversed after you've sent the item.

How a second number protects you

A second number puts a buffer between buyers and your personal life:

• Buyers get a number that's only used for selling — not the one your bank and family know.
• You answer from your laptop while you work, and switch the line off in the evening.
• When the item's sold, you retire the number: no more calls about a bike you sold three months ago.
• If a scammer gets the number, there's nothing behind it to steal.

Setting up a selling number in five minutes

1. Get a local number in the country where your buyers are — a local number gets more replies. With HeyNum, it's live in seconds, with just an email address.
2. Record a short voicemail greeting, so buyers know they've reached the right person.
3. Add the number to your listings and keep agreements on the marketplace's own messaging.
4. Switch it off between sales, or cancel it once everything has sold.

More tips for safe selling

• Meet in a public place for local sales, and bring someone along for valuable items.
• Check payments where they really happen — in your bank app or marketplace account — never from a text message or screenshot.
• Use the marketplace's payment protection when it exists, and stay on the platform for anything involving money.
• Trust your instincts. Pressure, urgency and stories that don't add up are the hallmarks of a scam.

Written by the HeyNum team. We build HeyNum, a service that gives you a real mobile number in your browser. We write about privacy, second numbers and staying reachable — and we're upfront when we mention our own product.