And to follow up with that, do the carriers know what you're doing? The reasoning behind SIM cards is it is a hardware security device not unlike a payment card such as a physical debit card that ensures someone has to have the actual device to access the network. This service seems to disagree with that notion.
Show HN: Dtmf.io – virtual phone numbers from 50 countries, and SIMs in the UK
11–20 of 28 posts
Re: Show HN: Dtmf.io – virtual phone numbers from 50 countries, and SIMs in the UK
#12Any one have any idea how to get numbers of any kind (VoIP is fine) that can send and receive SMS from a country like Slovenia? Big providers like Twilio don’t provide it. Twilio only provides sending. Thanks for any help.
Re: Show HN: Dtmf.io – virtual phone numbers from 50 countries, and SIMs in the UK
#13How do you plan to prevent abuse and fraud? This seems like it could attract a great amount of misuse. And to follow up with that, do the carriers know what you're doing? The reasoning behind SIM cards is it is a hardware security device not unlike a payment card such as a physical debit card that ensures someone has to have the actual device to access the network. This service seems to disagree with that notion.
Exactly. In addition, in some countries (e.g. Germany) your client is required to have a physical address [1] not only in the country, but also in the area where they get their number.
[1] "Address" being a place where they can receive snail mail AFAIK
Re: Show HN: Dtmf.io – virtual phone numbers from 50 countries, and SIMs in the UK
#14Re: Show HN: Dtmf.io – virtual phone numbers from 50 countries, and SIMs in the UK
#15How do you plan to prevent abuse and fraud? This seems like it could attract a great amount of misuse. And to follow up with that, do the carriers know what you're doing? The reasoning behind SIM cards is it is a hardware security device not unlike a payment card such as a physical debit card that ensures someone has to have the actual device to access the network. This service seems to disagree with that notion.
> How do you plan to prevent abuse and fraud? This seems like it could attract a great amount of misuse. Exactly. In addition, in some countries (e.g. Germany) your client is required to have a physical address [1] not only in the country, but also in the area where they get their number. [1] "Address" being a place where they can receive snail mail AFAIK
Many countries do not have these requirements, and for these countries you can just "click and buy".
Re: Show HN: Dtmf.io – virtual phone numbers from 50 countries, and SIMs in the UK
#16How do you plan to prevent abuse and fraud? This seems like it could attract a great amount of misuse. And to follow up with that, do the carriers know what you're doing? The reasoning behind SIM cards is it is a hardware security device not unlike a payment card such as a physical debit card that ensures someone has to have the actual device to access the network. This service seems to disagree with that notion.
Re: Show HN: Dtmf.io – virtual phone numbers from 50 countries, and SIMs in the UK
#17Do you have any concrete plans to expand the SIM mobile number service beyond the UK?
Re: Show HN: Dtmf.io – virtual phone numbers from 50 countries, and SIMs in the UK
#18Earlier quoted context omitted.
Wouldn't number verification systems (for example, Facebook) eventually start blacklisting your numbers? I have seen this happen with VOIP numbers. Do you have a plan to tackle this?
The physical SIM numbers are SIMs from major UK providers, and are never re-used (for clarity: if you buy a SIM number, you get a SIM that has never been used by anyone else, and it will never be used by anyone else after you). From the perspective of a number verification system (or anything else sending an SMS to them), they are completely indistinguishable from a mobile phone and prepaid SIM, since that is what th…
This isn't true; UK mobile numbers are re-used after a period of inactivity by the operator themselves.
Unless, of course, you're keeping the number/line live in permanence? But I can't see how your service would make that work financially.
Re: Show HN: Dtmf.io – virtual phone numbers from 50 countries, and SIMs in the UK
#19Earlier quoted context omitted.
The physical SIM numbers are SIMs from major UK providers, and are never re-used (for clarity: if you buy a SIM number, you get a SIM that has never been used by anyone else, and it will never be used by anyone else after you). From the perspective of a number verification system (or anything else sending an SMS to them), they are completely indistinguishable from a mobile phone and prepaid SIM, since that is what th…
> it will never be used by anyone else after you This isn't true; UK mobile numbers are re-used after a period of inactivity by the operator themselves. Unless, of course, you're keeping the number/line live in permanence? But I can't see how your service would make that work financially.
Of course unless phone numbers perpetually get longer, they have to eventually get re-used. We don't implement any re-use but the operator will indeed eventually recycle them.
Re: Show HN: Dtmf.io – virtual phone numbers from 50 countries, and SIMs in the UK
#20Earlier quoted context omitted.
> How do you plan to prevent abuse and fraud? This seems like it could attract a great amount of misuse. Exactly. In addition, in some countries (e.g. Germany) your client is required to have a physical address [1] not only in the country, but also in the area where they get their number. [1] "Address" being a place where they can receive snail mail AFAIK
We comply with these regulations. To get a German landline number via our service, you must provide proof of an address in the same locality, as well as proof of ID. We supply this to the regulator, and once they approve it, we provide the number. Many countries do not have these requirements, and for these countries you can just "click and buy".