Ladies, tell me about a time when you most regretted giving out your phone number?

11 comments

1. While moving, my dad accidentally donated a bag full of my clothes to goodwill. When I realized two hours later, I went to goodwill to ask if they had the bag. A man told me to write down my info with descriptions of the items and he’d call if he found them. Two days later, he text me sexually explicit crap. Never got my clothes either.

2. It was a survey site. Asked for a phone number following the survey, I can’t remember which. But nonstop spam texts for months. Almost had to change my number. Would have rather had to avoid a creepy dude.

3. Pretty much every time I donate to a political campaign or cause. Like I already gave you money, there’s no need to harass me with texts 3 times a day for the next year.

   Also, when donating blood. Like I get that there’s always a need, but once you donate even once, they turn into creditors. Let *me* call *you* – not the other way around. (I still do encourage everyone to donate despite that though)

4. Gave out my number to a dude in the wild.

   We “dated” for a couple of months and then I got a furious phone call one morning from his *wife* (surprise!) saying that he’d been arrested the night before for stabbing his brother (!) and he said he’d left his wallet at his “girlfriends” house and could she come get it. He hadn’t been at my place the night before so must have been someone else.

   Then months and months later when he was being paroled his lawyer called me to ask if he could come stay with me when he was released because he needed a permanent address for his file (um, no!).

   Then he was released and one night when I was out with friends he called my home number (showing my age haha) and left *multiple messages* of increasing intensity eventually screaming at me and calling me all sorts of names for ignoring him. That was pretty entertaining because I got them all at once the next morning.

   Bumped into him at the supermarket a few years ago (after over a decade) and he came up to me and said he was sorry and I was really nice and didn’t deserve his bullshit (duh) and that he’d like to pay back the money he’d borrowed from me at the time.

   I told him that if I never saw him again it was money well spent and walked away.

5. Can’t hide a phone number on WhatsApp (that I’m aware of). I connected with someone on Reddit that brought me to WhatsApp. My phone number is now being used in spoofing and phishing scams.

   I’m a bookkeeper. The IRS will never call you! They will never send law enforcement to your house! I actually specialize in tax accounting!!

   My number is now threatening people incorrectly.

   If anyone has questions about how the IRS actually works I’ll be happy to explain.

6. Random bar dude grabbed my phone and add himself on Facebook, then stalked me for several years. We literally never met outside that one time at a bar. Fun times!

7. I dont have a specific time but I’m sure most women have experienced this. It’s so annoying when you give your number out for work, school, hobbies, etc and then creepy dudes use it to try to pick you up.

8. Every time. 🙂

9. I gave my number to a guy on tinder who turned out to be a murderer. Thankfully I never even met him, we talked for a bit on tinder, moved to WhatsApp and I ended up ignoring him. About three years later I found out from a friend who knew him that he killed his girlfriend and the guy she was cheating with.

10. Gave my number to a customer at work to only get the guy I was sleeping with to get jealous. Even though things worked out in the end (married the guy I was sleeping with and been together 21 years in July) I did not enjoy my date with the customer. I still regret that night to this day, almost 21 years later.

11. Had several clients who asked me to send them previews via whatsapp because they “just aren’t good with e-mails”. Every time it resulted in a barrage of messages at inappropriate times (“why aren’t you working on my order at 11 PM?!”), haggling, random calls on weekends and voice messages that are 90% “ummmm” and 10% useful information.