What is Disposable Phone Number?

A disposable phone number, also known as a temporary virtual phone number, is an online service that lets users receive SMS messages without revealing their real phone number. It is a convenient option for people who need to receive account verification OTPs for registration or temporary access codes without disclosing personal information.

It is important to understand that a disposable or temporary phone number is shared among all users, whether it’s a free public number or a private number from a paid service. This means multiple people can use the same number, and it is often used by individuals who wish to remain anonymous.

The Risks of Accepting Disposable Phone Numbers #

Accepting disposable phone numbers can weaken one of the most important safeguards in onboarding and checkout: phone verification. When an OTP is sent to a temporary or shared number, there is no reliable link between the account and a real, reachable customer. This makes it easier for bad actors to bypass verification, create multiple accounts, and repeatedly abuse sign-up incentives, free trials, or limited-use promotions.

For merchants, the impact can be immediate and measurable. Disposable numbers are commonly used to test stolen payment methods, automate account creation, and place higher-risk orders. This can lead to more chargebacks, greater fraud losses, and increased operational costs from manual reviews and customer support disputes.

Beyond direct financial losses, disposable numbers can also increase reputational and compliance risks. They are often used to create anonymous profiles for scams on marketplaces, social media platforms, and dating apps. If fraudulent activity is carried out through accounts created on your service, it can damage customer trust and create downstream issues related to abuse handling, enforcement, and regulatory reporting.

How to Detect Disposable Phone Numbers #

FraudLabs Pro helps merchants detect disposable phone numbers during fraud verification. Our algorithm regularly scans multiple sources to identify active disposable phone numbers used worldwide and maintains a database of thousands of known disposable numbers.

If you are subscribed to the Medium Plan or higher, your orders are already protected against disposable phone number abuse. You can view the disposable phone number status of each order directly in the FraudLabs Pro merchant area. The screenshot below shows how this information appears in the transaction details:

How to Block Disposable Phone Numbers #

You can create a custom validation rule to automatically reject an order when a disposable phone number is detected. The screenshot below shows the disposable phone number validation rule:

If you are using the FraudLabs Pro REST API for fraud screening, you can check the phone_number->is_disposable field in the response to determine whether the customer’s phone number is disposable. Below is an example response message:

{
	      ...,
        "phone_number": {
            "is_disposable": true,
            "is_in_blacklist": false
        },
        ...,
}

{
	      ...,
        "phone_number": {
            "is_disposable": true,
            "is_in_blacklist": false
        },
        ...,
}

Conclusion #

We have observed an increase in the use of disposable phone numbers to bypass verification during account registration, checkout, and other key customer interactions. Therefore, it is important for merchants to detect and block these numbers before they can be used for abuse.

If you are not currently subscribed to the Medium Plan or higher, you can upgrade your plan through the merchant area to enable this feature.

Secure Transactions, Seamless Business #

Say goodbye to fraud worries! Secure your online store with FraudLabs Pro now.