How to Safely Book Hotels with a Virtual Number: Protect Yourself from Spam and Fraudsters
Every third traveler faces the fact that after booking a hotel, their phone starts to be attacked:
- Spam calls with offers to “improve the booking” or “confirm the details”.
- Phishing SMS, where fraudsters disguise themselves as hotel administration.
- Data leak on the darknet: your number can be sold to advertising agencies or scammers.
According to the AVIASALES study, 23% of personal data leaks occur through booking services. And this is not just annoying - it is dangerous. In 2023, phishing victims lost an average of $800 after believing messages about “booking problems”.
How can a virtual number protect your trip?
A virtual number is a “disposable” phone number for calls and SMS. You use it instead of your main number to:
- Hide your real contact from hotels, aggregators, and third parties.
- Receive booking confirmation codes without the risk of leakage.
- Block spam with one click ” just delete the number after your trip.
A real-life example:
Ivan booked a hotel in Turkey through a popular aggregator. A day later, he received an SMS: "Your reservation has been cancelled. Follow the link to restore." He almost fell for the bait, but checked the order status in time through the official application. It turned out that Ivan's number had been leaked online before he checked in. Now he uses the Grizzly SMS virtual number for reservations — and spam remains in a separate account.
The most popular services for booking rooms: Trip, Agoda and Booking
Why is Grizzly SMS suitable for travelers?
Most virtual number services are created for business, but Grizzly SMS is for personal use. Here's what makes it perfect for hotel bookings:
- Numbers in 100+ countries:
— Booking a hotel in Thailand? Get a Thai number.
— Planning a trip to Europe? Choose a German or French code.
This increases the trust of hotels - they are more willing to confirm bookings with local numbers. - Access to SMS without a SIM card:
— Messages are sent to your personal account on the website or in the app.
— No need for roaming: check confirmation codes even on the plane. - Auto-delete history:
— Set up automatic deletion of all SMS messages 3 days after receipt.
— Even if hackers break into the service, your data will already be gone. - The price is lower than a cup of coffee:
— Renting a room for 7 days costs from $2. Cheaper than restoring an account after a hack.
Important: Grizzly SMS does not require linking a passport or bank card. Your bookings remain anonymous.
4 steps to secure booking
1. Choose a virtual number for the destination country
— For example, for a hotel in Spain, take a Spanish number (+34). This will reduce the risk of being "caught" by the booking system.
2. Specify it when booking
— Enter the virtual number in the “Phone” field on Booking.com, Airbnb or the hotel website.
— Only the final voucher will be sent to the real number (if you ask).
3. Check SMS in your Grizzly SMS account
— Confirmation codes, notifications from the hotel, requests from the aggregator — everything is here.
— Reply to the message directly through the service if you need to contact the administration.
4. Delete the number after the trip
— Don't accumulate digital trash. Click “End rental” — and the number will stop working.
Life hack: Create a separate virtual number for each trip. If one of them gets into the spam database, the rest of the bookings will remain protected.
Stories instead of horror stories
Anna, 29:
“Previously, after each trip, “managers” would call me with offers to “win a free vacation.” I have been booking hotels with the Grizzly SMS virtual number for 2 years — not a single spam call. Even hotels write less often — only on business”.
Sergey, 41:
“When I forgot to turn off the number after a trip to Italy, Grizzly SMS itself deleted it after 30 days. Now I sleep peacefully — know that my contacts are not hanging out online».
Why doesn't this violate the booking rules?
Hotels and aggregators do not prohibit the use of virtual numbers. The main thing is to respond to messages in a timely manner