No Need to give out fake numbers again ?

WHO DOESN'T SCREEN CALLS these days? Whether you're hiding from a telemarketer, your college alumni association or that cutie you met at a bar last weekend, there are many times when you seriously regret having given out your precious digits.

So don't.

Thanks to Private Phone, a free new service launched June 1 by Internet provider NetZero, you can now set up a disposable phone number — kind of like the free email account you use to hold spam.

Unlike paid subscriptions that offer an extra phone line, this free disposable number service works with your existing number. You sign up online, selecting the area code and number. When people call your disposable number, they're forwarded automatically to voicemail. You'll get an email or text message notifying you of the message, which you can retrieve online or by phone.

You can open multiple accounts and close them at any time. And the person calling you need never know they're not reaching your real number. The mailbox only holds 10 messages, however, so you'll need to keep it clear to keep receiving calls.

You might benefit from a disposable phone number if you:

Post classified ads on Craigslist, in your local newspaper, or on community bulletin boards.

Have an unlisted number — and want to keep it that way.

Frequently sign up for sites, newsletters and freebies online. (Signing up often means your info is shared with site partners and third-party retailers.)

Want to make your contact information available online, say, on your blog or personal web site.

Get asked for your number by a (cute) stranger.

Another company, Jangl, is conducting beta tests for a similar service, though no launch date has yet been announced. Here, calls to your disposable number will be automatically forwarded to your phone, while keeping your real number anonymous. Interested in trying it? Sign up for their beta tests online.

Send Anonymous SMS

I saw this over on SMS Text News this morning. A new UK company has set up a service that allows people to send anonymous text messages via a website. The service takes advantage of the ability to set the sender ID in free SMS messages in the UK to make it appear the message has come from someone else. To use the service you have to purchase a keycode using your own (or someone else's) mobile phone. The keyword will cost you £1.50, and give you access to the anonymous sending service. The company records the originating mobile number (the one used to buy the keycode), along with all the details of the message being sent.

Sounds like fun ...