Fake phone number for verification: what works

When people search for a fake phone number, they usually want one thing: to verify an account without handing over their real number. The trouble is that most "fake" numbers cannot receive an SMS at all, so the verification never finishes.

Number generators

A phone number generator makes up digits that follow the right format for a country. The number looks valid, but nobody owns it, so the verification code goes nowhere. Services also check whether a number is real and active before sending a code, and many reject made-up numbers straight away.

Free SMS sites

Free sites show a few real numbers that anyone can use. Because thousands of people use the same numbers, they are already registered on most services, the codes are visible to everyone, and the code you are waiting for often never shows up.

What actually works

What you need is a real number that receives SMS and that only you use, for as long as the verification takes. That is a temporary number: a real operator number, reserved for you, used once. You read the code online and your personal number stays off the account.

• Pick the service and a country that is delivering well right now.
• Rent the number, enter it on the service and read the code on the page.
• If no code arrives, cancel for a refund and try another country.

Using it responsibly

Keeping your own number private is a normal reason to use a temporary number. Using any number to pretend to be someone else, get around a ban or commit fraud is not, and it breaks the rules of the services involved.