Most of the experienced hobbyists seem to recommend a prepaid cellphone when dealing with providers.  

On another note, most of the responses from the experienced hobbyists say that giving out your work number and cell phone number as well as where you work as verification is no big deal.  

I'm new to all this but it seems like if you are going to give them your cell phone number for verification, you might as well use it for dealing with them.  Or are you worried about the provider's number showing up over and over on your cell phone bill (and can you use your cell phone if your company receives and pays the bill)?

i think they mean prepaid cellphone.


afterall i don't see a point of giving out your regular cell # if you are going to have a prepaid cell.... the providers don't care whether your cell is prepaid or your regular one.

Unless it’s a referral from a trusted friend most reputable providers won’t see you without providing verification. It’s just not worth it.

If your worried about security ie. the lady calling you multiple times on your cell, then give a convenient time for her to call so that you aren’t in a compromising position when the phone rings, get a discreet recommendation from a fellow hobbyist or sign up with date check or another of the independent 3rd party verification services.  

Bottom line if she doesn’t ask you for a stitch of information: Then both parties are pretty much proceeding at their own risk.

They usually don't verify you through your cell phone.  They usually want to verify you through a work phone number, especially if it has a switchboard where they can ask to be transferred to you.

The advantage of a pre-paid cell phone is that there is no name attached to it.  If your cell phone number is obtained by the police or the press, they have no way of knowing who it belongs to.  Also, having a separate phone keeps spouses and girlfriends from looking at the call log on your primary phone.  Finally, if you need to, you can cover your tracks pretty easy by simply throwing out the cell phone all together and starting all over again.

The advantage of the prepaid is that there's no written record of calls for your spouse, or other boss to notice and raise suspicions over.  Now, in terms of giving the provider a number to verify that you're who you claim to be, the prepaid probably isn't gonna cut it for that.

What a pain in the neck to have another phone.  Where do you keep it.  Hard enough to keep track of one phone.  Do you keep it in your glove compartment? Under your car seat? In your briefcase?  Looks more suspicious if your wife finds another phone.  To play it safe, only use well  reviewed agencies and indies.  

Just keep it somewhereshe could never find it - I keep mine in my gym locker (I have a personal locker - she never gets in their, and I often use going to the gym as an excse to get out for hobby time, so its a convienient place to store it and stah it afterwards.  When I travel, I take it wth me. I change phones every year - I let the regular providers I see know my new number before discarding the old, then pitch it and start anew.

Gym locker is the way to go!

eom

to reiterate then.  there really is no reason to use a service like P411 or datecheck or any of the others because the providers will still do their own check.  is this correct?  responses from actual providers would be greatly appreciated.

Just got one at Radio shack for $20.00 yesterday.  They ask for name and address, just make one up.

Now that sucked.  One was the "family" phone, one was for work, and the 3rd was for a business that I ran.  The last 2 also doubled as my hobby phone, since they could ring at weird hours without suspicion, and in both cases, I reviewed the bills, and not at home.

The important thing is to know your circumstances.  It's quite possible to use your personal or work cell for hobbying, but you have to understand the risks.  For example, my SO wouldn't look at the bill for the family cell in a million years.  I still don't use it, but I probably could with a minimum of risk.  The problem comes in that IF she gets suspicious, it would be there, and that's the day you're preparing for by going through the inconvenience of another phone.

She said:

"Unless it’s a referral from a trusted friend most reputable providers won’t see you without providing verification. It’s just not worth it."

Hello, rs2k, p411, datecheck are all sources of verification!!!

Yes in most cases you will be checked out, and yes, if there is a referral service that the provider in question uses, they aren't useless.  You can reveal your info once, and potentially bypass filling out future forms with personal info.

Of course, if she doesn't provide a referral service option, you will need to provide all of the info she needs.

-- Modified on 9/25/2007 10:58:10 PM

If you choose not to become a member of a verifiable service such as RS or Datecheck...and your not a referral from another provider, Then you need to be prepared to give the provider certian information you deem 'private'.
To turn the tables a bit, How would YOU know a provider was 'REAL' if you didn't see her reviews or hear the good words about them through the message boards? Anyone can make up a website. I did! LOL We need to make sure WE are 'safe' and be able to verify YOU.

I now have enough reviews that newbies are calling to meet me. I love the chance to see someone who is fresh because I can actually make a difference for him and the ladies he will see later. The most important thing for each newbie is to start doing reviews. It is a way that other providers will use to verify him and see what he enjoys.TER is for the better of all of us and I am a paid VIP member. I always ask for a gentlemans screen name to read his reviews. I am much more comfortable with someone who has done reviews and the more the better. It is easier to checkout a VIP member by sending him a password which tells me I have the right person. Everyone has a cell these days so I thought but lately I have seen a few who don't. Tough call if they are new and you need to talk with them. No choice but work number and very hard to talk on a work line since all phone calls can be recorded. "that is legal" I don't want to talk shop and be recorded as much as you don't want to give me your work number. Cell phone is a must.   Kisses Haley