What's Porting Your Number?

Porting is generally a permanent means of moving a phone number to another provider, as the old account associated with the number will be closed. Compare this to forwarding, where the number keeps its old account association, but is forwarding to another number or person instead.

Why would someone try to port my number?

It occurs when a fraudster steals a victim's number and has it transferred to a new service provider — a process also known as porting. "A lot of damage could be done; it's probably much more severe than just losing your credit card," said Neeraj Kumar, who had his number fraudulently ported earlier this month.

Is it free to port your number?

Yes, you can port any eligible number that you own, whether it's mobile, landline, virtual, local or toll-free. However, if you're porting a number associated with a cell phone, and you would like to continue to use your cell phone, you will need to reach out to your carrier to obtain a new number.