# No you don't need my cell phone number! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 12, 2021, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-dont-need-my-cell-phone-number/937756 "2021-03-12T04:12:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2022, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-dont-need-my-cell-phone-number/937756/222 "2022-01-14T14:47:27Z")
Who is the “them”? Long story short, I had to deal with three different state agencies to get mine. My state has sort of a vaccine passport, and when it first came out, I couldn’t get mine because my record couldn’t be verified with the dept of health. I had been vaccinated at work (state agency) and at first assumed that rather than putting the zip code where I lived in the record that went to the Dept of Health , they had instead either used the zip code where I was actually vaccinated or the zip code of my agency’s central office, but those didn’t work either. The IT agency couldn’t help me as they couldn’t see the actual record. Finally a few weeks later, I managed to email someone helpful at the Dept of Health who _was_ able to see the records, and told me that the problem was that the records were sent to DOH without my address. S/he entered the correct info into my record and I was able to get the pass the next day. Months later, the agency location where the vaccinations were administered emailed everyone asking for their address so it could be added to the DOH record. Why it took months when I told them about the issue right away, I don’t know ( other than "state agency). So if the “them” who needs your cellphone number is the DOH try to contact someone there ( if there is specific contact info for an immunization registry, that might be the best place) or see if the provider who vaccinated you can amend the record sent to the state. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2022, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-dont-need-my-cell-phone-number/937756/223 "2022-01-14T16:06:33Z")
I asked my doctor to add my cell phone number to the state registry. He can add my vaccines, so odds are he can modify other stuff. I haven’t heard back. To be honest, my mom has covid and I’ve been more wrapped up in dealing with that than with my own stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2022, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-dont-need-my-cell-phone-number/937756/224 "2022-01-15T06:42:46Z")
If they can’t verify that you had your shots, just get another one. Get it at a different place. Maybe they will send up a record that works. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-dont-need-my-cell-phone-number/937756/225 "2022-02-17T05:21:55Z")
The local convenience store is running a buy-one, get-one-free special on a drink. In US$, about a buck twenty. They want your cell number for it. I just told them I didn’t want the drink so the cashier used another number. It looks like a common reaction. People give out cell numbers for $1.20? ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-dont-need-my-cell-phone-number/937756/226 "2022-02-17T05:48:11Z")
I always give a fake number, and it can actually amuse a bored worker. **867-5309** … Clerk asked “Hey, do you live with Jenny?” I looked scared: “Oh, crap. Didn’t she tell you it was over before I moved in?” ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2022, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-dont-need-my-cell-phone-number/937756/227 "2022-02-23T10:53:24Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > Under European law, this is explicitly illegal. If an organization collects your personal contact information for a specifically stated “legitimate interest” purpose, and then re-uses that data for another purpose for which you did not explicitly provide consent, they can get into serious trouble. This is also illegal in the US, AFAIK. It’s also illegal to provide an opt-out mechanism that doesn’t actually work. But I don’t know what the penalties are. Another valid question is, when you were filling out the 27 forms involved in the CVS customer agreement, did one of them happen to include this use of your information for promotional purposes? Most likely yes. When I really need my medicine, I speed through dozens of pages signing everything, because it’s a waste of time to read the fine print and discuss with the cashier (who didn’t create the forms and probably doesn’t understand them either). The company knows this and exploits it. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2022, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-dont-need-my-cell-phone-number/937756/228 "2022-02-23T14:37:12Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > This is also illegal in the US, AFAIK. It’s also illegal to provide an opt-out mechanism that doesn’t actually work. But I don’t know what the penalties are. [https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business](https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business) > Each separate email in violation of the CAN-SPAM Act is subject to penalties of up to $46,517, so non-compliance can be costly. ---
**Author:** ![Ranch\_Dip](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranch_dip/32/5238_2.png) [@Ranch\_Dip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranch_Dip)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2022, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-dont-need-my-cell-phone-number/937756/229 "2022-02-23T18:22:53Z")
> [@Keith1](#): > > At some point one must take a stand and say enough is enough. And for many, that time arrived when as a 60 or 80 year old they get asked for ID. If they are unloading on a service worker they are wrong. Full stop. The are awful, horrible, selfish skin bags who need to fuck right off. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2022, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-dont-need-my-cell-phone-number/937756/230 "2022-02-23T19:13:01Z")
Speaking of cell phone numbers… My kid got me a gift card to a cool coffee place (because all of its four cafés are close to bike paths)… After you pay, even if it’s cash, you get to “sign in” with a member # or phone #. BUT, even if you don’t “belong” to their little club, you can put in “your” phone number to get your ‘bonus points’ texted to you. Forgive me, O Coyote God of Mischief, but I can’t resist putting in random numbers (I’m confining myself to downtown Manhattan, figuring those are mostly businesses). You can thank me later, Catherwood, Catherwood & Curlington Legal Boutique, you’ve just gotten two bonus points from the boonies… _“Up Nort’ uh You Guys”._ ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2022, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-dont-need-my-cell-phone-number/937756/231 "2022-02-23T22:35:45Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Forgive me, O Coyote God of Mischief, but I can’t resist putting in random numbers (I’m confining myself to downtown Manhattan, figuring those are mostly businesses). You can thank me later, Catherwood, Catherwood & Curlington Legal Boutique, you’ve just gotten two bonus points from the boonies… _“Up Nort’ uh You Guys”._ I used to do something similar, but it was when I was filling out fake information online. If I needed to set up a free account for a web site (that I didn’t trust), I gave them my spam email address and the phone number and street address of a McDonald’s in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Why there? It was random, I had no specific reason for it.) It’s possible that location got a little more junk mail than usual because of me. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2022, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-dont-need-my-cell-phone-number/937756/232 "2022-02-23T23:01:47Z")
I used to use my office phone number for everything I signed up for\*, and when I retired, they didn’t replace me and the number went to generic voicemail, so I didn’t try to figure out all the web sites and stores and pharmacies that had my number… Well, just for fun the other day, I called myself at work… Yikes! There’s an outgoing message by someone, not in my department. They must have reassigned the number to what sounds like a sour older woman… … who is probably getting odd calls, like "Just a reminder that you have $999 in Platinum Level Kitty Kash! Once you hit 1000, it rolls back over to zero, so hurry on down to the Kitty Kafé, where your 999 in Kitty Kash will get YOU… _ **ONE FREE SHOT** _ of _ **WHIPPED CREAM** _ on your _ **FELINE FRAPPAAAAAAAY**!"_ . \*No, I never got these calls, because… I never plugged my phone in! Thirty years without a single call… the people who I wanted to hear from knew to use email, or my family could text. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2022, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-dont-need-my-cell-phone-number/937756/233 "2022-02-23T23:12:38Z")
It’s quite possible that the cash registers are filmed by surveillance cameras, and there is someone that checks them randomly to make sure all alcohol sales are carded. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2022, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-dont-need-my-cell-phone-number/937756/234 "2022-02-24T00:07:35Z")
Yes. Where I work we don’t have to card everyone but they do random audits of the security footage to make sure we’re doing this properly. Also undercover police who will bust you if you fail to follow the law. I can not emphasize enough how seriously making sure minimum age laws are followed for purchasing various items. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2022, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-dont-need-my-cell-phone-number/937756/235 "2022-02-24T00:11:14Z")
> [@digs](#): > > There’s an outgoing message by someone, not in my department. They must have reassigned the number to what sounds like a sour older woman… > > … who is probably getting odd calls, like "Just a reminder that you have $999 in Platinum Level Kitty Kash! Once you hit 1000, it rolls back over to zero, so hurry on down to the Kitty Kafé, where your 999 in Kitty Kash will get YOU… _ **ONE FREE SHOT** _ of _ **WHIPPED CREAM** _ on your _ **FELINE FRAPPAAAAAAAY**!"_ Maybe she wasn’t sour before she got stuck with your old phone number. > [@Broomstick](#): > > undercover police who will bust you if you fail to follow the law. > > I can not emphasize enough how seriously making sure minimum age laws are followed for purchasing various items. Every once in the while I see the results of such a sting in the local papers. Sometimes the business loses their license. The stories don’t always say what happened to the cashier; but I expect that at the very least they got cashiered. ---
**Author:** ![Ranch\_Dip](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranch_dip/32/5238_2.png) [@Ranch\_Dip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranch_Dip)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2022, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-dont-need-my-cell-phone-number/937756/236 "2022-02-24T00:14:21Z")
FYI, google voice is free, and you can get texts to it. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2022, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-dont-need-my-cell-phone-number/937756/237 "2022-02-24T01:21:49Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Every once in the while I see the results of such a sting in the local papers. Sometimes the business loses their license. The stories don’t always say what happened to the cashier; but I expect that at the very least they got cashiered. In my state first offense selling alcohol to someone underage can be up to the loss of your job, several thousand dollars in fines, and up to six months in jail. First offense. Unless said minor did something like get into a car accident after you sold them booze - then the selling graduates to a major felony. Whine all you want, I card a LOT of people because I want to keep my job, my money, and my freedom. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2022, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-dont-need-my-cell-phone-number/937756/238 "2022-02-24T01:35:45Z")
I bought these new Bud Light [hard sodas](https://www.elitedaily.com/lifestyle/bud-light-seltzer-hard-soda-pack-flavors-price-where-to-buy-availability-2022) at the grocery store last weekend (they are delicious, and have nothing in common with Bud Light other than the name, I highly recommend them). Anyway, I’m so used to being carded anywhere I buy alcohol so I was shocked I wasn’t asked. I checked my receipt and it had an “age verification waived” or some such language on it next to the entry for the drinks. I almost felt offended but really, I’ll be 45, my beard is almost all white and my hair is going silver so I am clearly over 21. Still, I’m so conditioned to being carded that it was a surprise. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2022, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-dont-need-my-cell-phone-number/937756/239 "2022-02-24T19:15:14Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Well, just for fun the other day, I called myself at work… > Yikes! I use my old landline number that was closed down over 20 years ago. Once in a while I call it to make sure it hadn’t been reassigned to some poor soul but so far it remains out of service. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-dont-need-my-cell-phone-number/937756.md?page=11)