To ward off unwanted calls, take virtual mobile number

Vijay C Roy

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 30

Unsolicited calls and spam messages are common every time you share your mobile number publicly. According to a report by digital security firm Gemalto, incidents of data breach in India were the second highest globally in 2018. These have gone up 18% in 2021 as compared to 2020.

However, Doosra — an app-based service — has come to the rescue of people who don’t wish to share their mobile numbers publicly. It is a virtual mobile number, which can help protect the user’s privacy. The company has partnered with telecom operators to give a 10-digit virtual mobile number to customers. No additional SIM card or device is required to operate it.

“Doosra blocks all calls by default. All text messages sent to this secondary number are stored within the app. However, users always have the option to add “trusted numbers” and can whitelist the contacts and their calls will come through. The other way to allow calls is to turn off the call blocker time, location or till the time you need. With this setting, all calls on the secondary number will get forwarded to the customers’s primary number and will not be blocked by default,” said Aditya Vuchi, founder and CEO, Doosra.

According to him, personal data breach may result in violation of right to privacy, identity theft or fraud, financial loss, unauthorised reversal of pseudonymisation, damage to reputation and loss of confidentiality.

Vuchi said the virtual mobile number can be shared anywhere — at malls, supermarkets and delivery apps etc without worrying about your number being abused by telemarketers and scamsters.

No addl SIM needed

Doosra — an app-based service — has come to the rescue of people who don’t wish to share their mobile numbers publicly. It offers a 10-digit virtual number, which can help protect the user’s privacy. No additional SIM or device is required to operate it.