I have only one phone number and have had it for a really long time. It’s my cell number, my home number, and my business number.
When relaunching L.A. TACO in 2018, I used that number on every business expense we needed, from funding to products to services. When we went through some financial stress in 2024, it was the number tied to the predatory loans we took to stay afloat.
Today, I get dozens of spam calls and texts every single day. No doubt many people out there can relate to this and are probably as annoyed and frustrated as I am. There doesn’t seem to be a real solution for this, but a new statewide program was just launched to help, at least a little.
On August 1, more than 600 companies registered with the State of California as data brokers became legally required to erase the personal information of any California resident who asked them to. About 300,000 people already have, including me.
The tool is called DROP, short for the “Delete Request and Opt-out Platform.” You’ll find it at privacy.ca.gov. It’s run by the California Privacy Protection Agency and it's free.