It's not mandatory but I recommend having 2 phone numbers in your life:
- A private phone number that is only shared with your private circle and institutional parties (public administration, banks, etc). In short with organizations you're absolutely sure they would never share your phone with anyone else and that are (normally) less likely to be successfully hacked.
- A public phone number for everything else (shops, apps registrations, etc). This phone number will be among data leaks at one point or another, likely multiple times within a few years.
This is why this setup focuses on protecting the voice part by at least helping you record vocal scams (which are far more dangerous than SMS ones). This is a life changer in terms of deterrence and in terms of legal proof if it ever comes to that.
Note
This strategy doesn't cover vocal scams using third-party app like WhatsApp, but a simple advice is: NEVER use third-party apps to communicate wi