Pro Tip: If someone asks you to post your phone number in a publicly-viewable place online, don't listen. Even if they're famous – just don't. Remember, posting your personal information where anyone can see it means that anyone can see it, which greatly increases your chances of getting weird phone calls – or getting put on blast. Case in point: this prank involving Breaking Bad actor Aaron Paul.
First a little history: Paul (aka Jesse Pinkman) posted a tweet around the time of the Aug. 25 episode of the AMC series, aired asking folks for their phone numbers so he could "let me talk you thru" a difficult moment on the show. Unsurprisingly, many fans posted their personal numbers as requested, and some of them got calls – not from Paul but from YouTuber ZeoStorm, who saw it as an opportunity for a lesson about the dangers of posting personal information online.
By simply ringing people up and pretending to be the actor – in a voice that, frankly, doesn't sound much like Paul's – ZeoStorm was able to (falsely) make a lot of people's days by calling them "bitch," Jesse Pinkman's favorite insult. "Oh my god, is this Aaron Paul?!" one exclaims. "Can you call my friend Craig a bitch?" asks another. One even seems to start crying. On and on it goes, for more than a dozen calls.
"In my video I tried giving out the message that people should think twice before posting up information that you wouldn't want a stranger to know," ZeoStorm said in an email to WIRED. "Aaron Paul had good intentions calling his fans, but the way he went about it maybe wasn't the best route to take. For everyone I called I kept it respectful and left it on a good note so that if they really believed I was Aaron, I'm sure they think even more of him now."
Of course, it's tempting to post your personal information for a chance to talk to your favorite celebrity. And Paul seems like a cool guy who, apparently, actually has called people who left their numbers for him on Twitter and reddit. (It seems possible prankers called those people too, though ZeoStorm claims he wasn't one of them.) One tweeter, responding to the idea that people were texting the numbers that were tweeting out, even noted that getting a call from Paul would be "worth a couple spam texts."
But as the video points out, posting your personal information online is always a risk. While the prank was mostly good-natured and didn't reveal any numbers or identities, the same information could easily have been used in far worse ways, including harassment.
"For the most part Twitter is a very public place, so that tweet you send to your idol asking them to call you or even any personal information beyond just a number, that can be seen by everyone with just a simple search," ZeoStorm said. "In the video I even offered the idea of direct messaging a few lucky fans next time to ensure privacy."
In conclusion, it's a bad idea to post your phone number on Twitter, even if you want Aaron Paul to call you and pretend to be Jesse Pinkman from Breaking Bad and cuss out your friends. Giving anyone on the internet the ability to call you is just asking for trouble, pranks or otherwise. And, if you absolutely have to take a shot at getting called by Paul, be smart about it – create a temporary Google Voice number.
