dewline | About Anonymous Text Queries

It occurs to me that I've given out my cell phone number, via my resumé, maybe a thousand times - perhaps more - via conscious choice over the last two years of Pandemic time. All of those instances involved job applications of some kind. Assorted relatives across two countries already know that number as well as specific friends of my choosing.

In addition, I'm registered on Indeed, and I've also given that contact information to a couple social support agencies and non-governmental organizations. Some companies that I do regular business with also have that cell number, possibly because they believe themselves legally obligated to acquire it for their record-keeping.

When someone texts me via said cell phone without announcing their identity and/or affiliation - just the phone number - asking "Dwight Williams" how I'm feeling, I get suspicious. I might even be inclined to track the number as best I can. Yes, I'm aware that phone numbers can be "spoofed". So are various people better able to pursue the matter.

I am stressed in many ways right now. So this is a line I'm drawing in the "sand" of computer circuitry.